Somalia, Somaliland should engage in honest unity talks: Experts

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Officials from Türkiye and Norway last week met Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Muse Bihi Abdi, the leader of the unrecognized breakaway region of Somaliland.

The Somali leader told Turkish Special envoy Aykut Kumbaroglu and Norwegian envoy Heidi Johansen that he is determined to resume talks with Somaliland.

The former British protectorate declared independence from Somalia during the 1990s, citing atrocities committed by the former military regime led by Mohamed Siyad Barre.

Omar Mahmood, senior analyst with Eastern Africa at the International Crisis Group, told Anadolu Agency that Somaliland is an issue that has been going on for more than 30 years.

He said the lack of resolution results in a limbo status, which in many ways holds the region back. The two sides have engaged several times in the past but never made significant progress on political positions.

Abdirisak Aden, former senior adviser to the Somali president and currently executive director of Farsigh Africa Policy Studies, told Anadolu Agency that Somalia and Somaliland authorities must resume talks in the interest of Somalis at large because Somalia and Somaliland face humanitarian crises and famine.

He said development assistance must not be politicized by Mogadishu.

Anwar Abdifatah Bashir, a lecturer at Somali National University, told Anadolu Agency that the resumption of talks is always a good move and a way forward but he has concerns that the two sides are not willing to engage in good faith to achieve a peaceful resolution.