Somaliland opposition party UCID has blamed President Muse Bihi for the conflict in Laascaanood and other issues and called on him to step down.
Faysal Cali Waraabe (pictured) who chairs UCID said that the president is responsible for the conflict in the city of Laascaanood, as well as other problems in the country.
“I feel very sad over the senseless war continuing in Lasanod. The crisis of Lassanood is one of the immense problems in the country created by Bihi.,” Waraabe Tweeted.
He also warned that Somaliland is on the verge of collapse and may become a hub for terrorist groups, calling on the President to step down to prevent further damage.
“The country is on the brink of collapse and is becoming the hub of extremists. I appeal President Musa to step down to save Somaliland,” Waraabe said.
The military conflict between Somaliland forces and armed militias in Laascaanood has been ongoing for more than two weeks, with the Somaliland government claiming that terrorists were among those in control of the city, as violence and tensions continue.
Warabe spoke as President Bihi Abdi called a consultative meeting that was attended by the Speaker of the Senate (GUURTI), former vice-presidents, parliamentarians, politicians, scholars, businessmen, women fraternity, scholars, youth and numerous eminent personalities and intellectuals.
They consulted on the best recourse in addressing the Laascaanood issue concertedly with a unified front through dialogue and fruitfully end the quagmire.
Others present in the meeting included the mayor of Hargeisa Cllr. Abdikarin Ahmed Mooge, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Mr. Jamal Aydeed Ibrahim, Sultan Adan Sultan Farah, the chairman of the umbrella organization of non-governmental organization SONSAF Mr. Anwar Abdirahman Warsame, Director of NAGAAD umbrella Miss. Nafisa Yusuf Osman and the main clergy of Borama, Sheikh Abdillahi Sheikh Ali Jowhar.
They all underscored the importance of reaching an immediate solution to the Lasanood violence while pointing out that Lasaanood is an important pillar for the existence of the nation of the Republic of Somaliland.
Mohamed Jama, who is a former MP called upon the people of Lasanood to understand the value of peace and to take time and make efforts in restoring the development, business and education of the children of Lasanood, which is now stalled, to resume and urged the government to continue its role and efforts of offering an olive branch, a leaf of peace.
Members of the cabinet including the ministers of the Interior Hon. Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, Information Hon. Suleiman Yusuf Ali Koore, Hon. Mohamud Hassan Saad (Saajin), and Religion and Endowments minister Hon. Sheikh Abdirisaq Hussein Ali (Albani) echoed similar sentiments about the value of peaceful stability while underpinning the fact that the government is committed to ending the conflict in Lasaanood through dialogue to ultimate agreements and has convictionally decided to call for a dialogue in order to end the skirmishes.
The Speaker of the Senate Hon. Suleiman Mohamud expressed the importance of finding an immediate solution to the Lasaanod problem, noting that Lasaanod is the core pillar of Somaliland.
He said, “Somaliland has not been without the people of Sool in the past and it cannot be today without them; they are people who are related hence cannot be separated. We have to concertedly find a solution”.
President Bihi expressed his dismay at the violence that evolved in Lasanood pointing out that the government had restrained itself a lot and taken much time to find a lasting solution to the conflict.
He said that the state exerted many efforts to avoid deterioration to violence and repeatedly appealed to the people and intellectuals of Sool to reciprocate the efforts and work towards peaceful solutions.
The President emphasized that “all who have been affected by the Lasaanood crisis have all Somalilanders aggrieved, it hurts all in the country and it is incumbent upon all of us to end it”.
He said that the people of Somaliland are united, indivisible, brethren and in case of animosities arose, always reconciled with each other.
He underscored that as the Head of State it was incumbent upon him to foster the maintenance and perpetuation of peaceful stability hence it his topmost priority to address it.
