Somaliland President Irro Calls for Calm After Deadly Unrest in Boorama

HARGEISA, Somalia - Somaliland leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, alias Irro, made a televised address to the state on the unrest in the town of Boorama, Awdal Region, on Friday, while condemning the clashes that have left multiple people dead.

Two days of protests and clashes with security forces have resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. So far, no official casualty figures have been released by the authorities, but eyewitnesses have reported multiple casualties.

In his brief speech, the president appealed for calm, called on security forces to return to the barracks, and promised a speedy and transparent probe. Somaliland is a breakaway state of Somalia.

Riots broke out in Boorama this week after the government lifted a ban on a book documenting the cultural heritage and history of the Issa clan and the clan's contribution to the evolution of the Somali customary law - the Xeer-Ciise.

While the intervention by the government was aimed at allowing the Issa to proceed with a planned cultural event in Seylac to celebrate the Xeer-Issa book, the rival Samaroon clan (Gadabuursi) saw it as evidence of state partisanship, argues Rashid Abdi, a security analyst.

The rivalry between the two Dir clans has escalated in the last year. At issue is not simply competing cultural claims over the Xeer-Ciise, but also a tussle for regional dominance - almost certainly stoked by outside forces, intent on destabilising Somaliland, he adds.

The Somaliland breakaway region is fighting for international recognition, which hasn't been prioritized, with several members of the United Nations insisting that the state should remain part of Somalia under the single Somali policy.

GAROWE ONLINE