MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived on Friday in the northern town of Lasanod in a highly symbolic visit, becoming the first Somali head of state to set foot in the strategic city in decades.
The president was welcomed at Lasanod’s modest, unpaved airstrip by senior regional leaders and federal government officials, greeting them individually moments after stepping off his aircraft. Images of President Mohamud waving the Somali national flag upon arrival quickly spread, a sight scarcely conceivable only a few years ago when the town was firmly under Somaliland’s control.
That control ended in August 2023, when Somaliland forces were driven out following clashes with clan militias aligned with the federal government.
Somaliland, a self-declared republic that proclaimed independence from Somalia in 1991 but remains internationally unrecognised, does not acknowledge the authority of the federal government in Mogadishu. It has consistently barred Somali federal officials from entering areas under its administration and has criminalised the display of the Somali national flag.
The visit is widely seen as a major political blow to Somaliland, which continues to claim Lasanod and the wider Sool region as part of its territory. In reality, much of the region is now controlled by forces aligned with the federal government. In response to the shifting balance of power, Mogadishu has moved to establish a new federal member state, formally named Northeastern Somalia.
For the federal government, the visit was designed to send an unmistakable message to the international community: Somaliland is no longer territorially intact. Officials argue that the region is now effectively split between a north-west under Hargeisa’s control and a north-east aligned with Mogadishu, undermining Somaliland’s long-standing claim to the borders of the former Somaliland British protectorate.
Federal authorities have also framed the visit as evidence that Somaliland has increasingly narrowed into what they describe as a one-clan enclave, while insisting that the central government retains both the political and military capacity to restore unity. President Mohamud has recently reiterated that dialogue remains preferable, but that the use of force has not been ruled out.
The timing of the visit is particularly sensitive. It comes just weeks after Israel recognised Somaliland and only days after Somalia announced it was severing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, accusing Abu Dhabi of backing the breakaway region. Mogadishu says these developments reinforce its determination to defend Somalia’s territorial integrity and prevent external actors from further fragmenting the already fragile Horn of Africa nation.
In Lasanod, celebrations continued throughout the day and late into the night, as residents marked the president’s arrival with public gatherings and expressions of support. Hundreds of officials from the federal government and various regional administrations also converged on the town.
Many are expected to remain for the inauguration of Abdulkadir Ahmed Aw Ali Firdhiye as president of the newly formed Northeastern Somalia regional state, an event scheduled for the coming days.
For some analysts, however, the visit also serves a domestic political purpose. President Mohamud is facing mounting pressure over a deepening dispute with several regional states and the opposition over the electoral process. Opposition leaders have issued an ultimatum, expiring on 20 January, demanding dialogue to secure a broad-based electoral consensus. Failure to do so, they warn, could lead to a parallel vote and the emergence of a rival government.
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