HARGEISA – On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the Somaliland Council of Ministers convened an urgent meeting chaired by President Muse Bihi to address critical issues concerning national security, elections, and defense.
Interior Minister Mohamed Kahin provided a detailed briefing on the current security situation in Somaliland and the broader Horn of Africa region.
The council affirmed that the upcoming elections will proceed as scheduled and underscored the necessity of a strong national defense against potential threats to what they called ‘Somaliland’s sovereignty’. Citizens were urged to prepare for both the elections and the protection of the so-called nation.
While the official press release did not specify the sources of these threats, there are reports of forming an armed groups in the Awdal region with support from Djibouti and Federal Government of Somalia, which insists that Somaliland is and will be part of the state.
In a historic development, Minister of Assembly Relations Abdinasir Buuni presented and distributed the draft of Somaliland’s general penal code to the Cabinet for the first time.
Somaliland has been a self-governing region of Somalia for more than three decades, but its claim of independence is not recognized by Mogadishu or any foreign government officially.
In January 1st this year, a surprise memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland has aggravated tensions in the Horn of Africa with reverberations beyond.  The move has sparked serious political tension between Ethiopia and Somalia, as Somalia has accused Ethiopia of infringing upon its sovereignty.
