By M.A. Egge
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change Hon. Shukri Haji Ismael Bandare has called on the people of Sool region to stop the conflict and work towards peaceful stability and development.
The minister said that the people of Sool are the people of Somaliland and they should be aware that the war is pointless and destructive hence their interest is to stop the conflict.
Hon. Shukri pointed out that the people of Somaliland should stop the violence, which has caused problems for the women and children who have been displaced.
“We need prayers such that God may calm the situation the situation going on in Lasaanod today. The Somaliland government has done a lot of efforts. The people who live in Lasanood belong to Somaliland and they are our people”, she stressed.
Hon. Shukri lamented that war is destructive and claims fatalities.
She urged the Sool residents to acknowledge and reckon their sense of belonging as Somalilanders.
On the other hand, she pointed out that Somaliland’s interests lie in its integral borders and hence had its territorial integrity well known before it entered the ill-fated union with Somalia back in 1960.
“Our families live together and are inseparable. They are nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. That’s how we are connected and the people of Sool should know that,” she said.
The Minister made the statement during the closure of a two-day training session conducted by her ministry on anti-poaching and protection of the natural resources.
The Director General of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Mr. Mohamed Abdallahi Duale was in attendance.
Others were officials from the CCF, led by its director Laurie Marker, heads of various international organizations working with the Ministry of Environment, parliamentarians, and other officials.
The two-day meeting discussed dwelt on how to make the community understand the importance of natural resources, including wildlife, and how to protect the resources.