Somalia: Guled in Djibouti seeking support for resumption of Somaliland talks

DJIBOUTI - The president of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh received the newly appointed Somali envoy for Somaliland affairs Abdikarin Hussein Guled at the presidential palace on Sunday.

Guled, a former interior minister and leader of Galmudug State seeks the support of Guelleh as he is tasked with talks with the breakaway region to find a lasting solution to the existing concerns.

He led the Somali delegation engaged first round of the talks between the Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland during the tenure of President Hassan Sheikh from 2012 to 2017.

Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi has welcomed the appointment of Guled on April 1 as a step in the positive direction. Since his appointment, he held a series of consultative meetings with politicians from the north, including Abdi Hashi, the Senate Speaker of the Upper House in Mogadishu.

Guled’s appointment came amid an ongoing war between the Somaliland army and SSC local forces in the Las-Anod where more than 200 people have been killed in the past two months. SSC-Khatumo wants to secede from Somaliland and form a seprate state under Somalia's Federal system.

For over three decades, Somaliland has been claiming to have seceded from Somalia but failed to get international recognition. The government of Somalia insists the region remains part of its territorial integrity.

On Sunday, Guled held a meeting with Guelleh where he conveyed a message from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The meeting also focused on the dialogue between FGS and Somaliland.

"Earlier, met. the president of the Republic of Djibouti his Excellency Ismail Oguelleh. Conveyed official Message From Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President FG of Somalia," he said. "Discussed the importance of Somalia and Somaliland dialogue and the role his excellency could play."

Already, the SSC-Khatumo has declared that it has nothing to do with Somaliland, insisting it will not be part of the planned talks between FGS leaders and Bihi's administration in Hargeisa.

GAROWE ONLINE