By M.A. Egge
The President of the Puntland State and his Parliament are bent towards deteriorating the Sool situation by fueling the war even further and thereby escalating the crisis, given his rhetorical threats on Thursday.
Both their move directly undermines the resolution just adapted by the organizations of the regional IGAD, and also proposed earlier by the UNSC, which spelt out the need of ceasefire and peaceful dialogue to address the quagmire.
In contrast, the president of the Puntland regional administration Said Abdillahi Deni threatened to wage war in Somaliland and giving his own ultimatums.
“The government of Puntland will openly support and stand by the people of SSC if the administration of Musa Bihi does not listens to the calls of the Security Council and those who love peace to withdraw its troops from the city of Las Anod,” said Said Deni.
Similarly the Speaker of the Puntland Parliament Abdirashid Yusuf Jibril echoed the same saying that their parliament will stand by the people of Las Anod, and criticized the decision of the IGAD regional organization that called for peaceful dialogue.
Beating the drums of war he said, “I am calling on the leaders and the people of Puntland to defend the honor of the community of the Sool region, which is tantamount to be the defense of the unity of the Somali nation”.
The statement of the president and the parliament of Puntland regional government is directed and wholly fueling the conflict in the Sool region even further hence vouches for the fact that the Somaliland nation has always held the fact that the Puntland administration has always been behind the insurgency and skirmishes perpetrated in the region.