Saleban Mohamud Aden, Speaker of the Somaliland House of Elders, stated that his House is working to address the problems in Las Anod but emphasized that it is not his personal responsibility.
Speaking to the media in Hargeisa on Saturday, the speaker gave conflicting accounts of the Las Anod problems, at first promising to help to resolve the situation and then later asserting that it was not his personal responsibility.
If the elders were advancing the interests of the Sool region, the speaker stated he would welcome the Las Anod gathering. He responded that it would not matter to him if the meeting decided against Somaliland when asked what he would do.
Recently, Muse Bihi Abdi, the president of Somaliland, and Saleban Mohamud Aden, the speaker of the Somaliland House of Elders, have been collaborating to find a solution to the crisis in Las Anod. He promised to discuss the Las Anod matter with the house members during a house meeting.
On Saturday, the traditional chiefs of the Sool, Sanaag, and Ayn districts assembled in Las Anod to talk about the future of their domain.
The high-level meeting, which was attended by the majority of the elders from the three areas, was started by Garad Jama Garad Ali, the highest traditional clan chief of the Sool, Sanaag, and Ayn territories.
The presence of the Somalia national flag at the conference site was immediately noticed by observers as a strong indication that the meeting’s projected agenda would be hostile to Somaliland.
Over 20 citizens were killed recently in Las Anod during anti-Somaliland riots, and Garad Jama charged Somaliland with being to blame.