Somali Special Presidential Envoy for Somaliland talks, Abdikarim Hussein Guled, met with the new British Ambassador to Somalia, Mike Nithavrianakis, in Mogadishu yesterday.
During the meeting, the Ambassador and the Special Envoy discussed expediting the talks between the Federal government and Somaliland, and the Ambassador expressed his support for the initiative.
Mr. Guled thanked the UK government for supporting the Somali government and its people.
The meeting took place shortly after Feisal Ali Warabe, the chairman of Somaliland’s opposition UCID party, called on Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to replace his Special Presidential Envoy due to his recent speech regarding the conflict in Las Anod.
In his speech, the envoy called on both sides to create distance between their forces in Las Anod.
Since February 6, 2023, the town of Las Anod has become the epicentre of fierce clashes between the forces of the breakaway region of Somaliland and local militias from the Dhulbahante clan.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in at least 150 dead, approximately 600 wounded, and 185,000 displaced from the town. The fighting in Las Anod has drawn widespread international condemnation and raised fears that the conflict may escalate into a regional war.
