ConflictBarometer_2016

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
elected Ali Abdullahi Osoble, member of Hawadle clan, as regional
president.
loc
SOMALIA (KHATUMO STATE – PUNTLAND –
SOMALILAND)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1998
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
regional government of Somaliland
vs. Khatumo State vs. autonomous
region of Puntland
subnational predominance
SOMALIA (INTER-MILITIA RIVALRY / JUBALAND)
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 1991
Conflict parties: Hirale militias vs. Interim Jubaland
Administration
Conflict items:
subnational predominance
The violent crisis over subnational predominance in Jubaland
region between militias loyal to Colonel Barre Hirale and
the militant Ras Kamboni Movement led by Sheikh Mohamed
''Madobe” Islam, de-escalated. In 2013, clan representatives
had elected Madobe as president of the Interim Jubaland
Admin-istration (IJA).
Throughout the year, militias loyal to Hirale signaled their
willingness to negotiate with Madobe's government and thus
negotiations took place to resolve the conflict. On February
20, Madobe opened a reconciliation conference in Kismayo,
Lower Juba region, in order to end clan hostilities in the Gedo
region. Two days later, tensions between the clans and the IJA
arose, when IJA security forces detained two elders for publicly
denouncing members of its cabinet. On April 12, an estimated
45 fighters were taken into custody by AMISOM forces
after they had been brought to Kismayo to hand over their
weapons and uniforms to the Jubaland administration. This
was approved by Hirale. However, 16 of Hirale's fighters rejected
the agreement and defected to al-Shabaab [→ Somalia
(al-Shabaab)]. On June 14, Madobe appointed 18 new cabinet
members, after reaching a deal with rival political groups
in Jubaland to form a more inclusive government. On August
29, IJA soldiers stormed a house in Beled Hawo, Gedo,
in which a meeting of a militia planning attacks on the administration
allegedly had taken place. Subsequent fighting
left four civilians dead and injured eight others. On November
20, the Somali federal election commission and IJA temporarily
postponed elections in Kismayo after disagreements
arose between the election commission and Jubaland communities.
Security forces closed the polling stations for a
second day after rumors emerged that election commissioners
had been attempting to replace delegates representing a
candidate from a certain clan. In early December, after the
alleged murder of two IJA soldiers, an armed militia group
loyal to Madobe was accused of harassing Kismayo residents
in retaliation. Kismayo inhabitants fled their houses after Ras
Kamboni militiamen had arrested several people and taken
them to undisclosed locations. hss
The violent crisis over subnational predominance between
the self-declared independent state of Somaliland, the selfdeclared
Khatumo State, and the autonomous region of
Puntland continued. The area of contention comprised the
provinces of Sool, Sanaag, and Taugher's Cayn section (SSC).
On January 15, Somaliland troops seized a Khatumo headquarter
in Balli Cad town, Togdheer, to disrupt a meeting of
clan elders. Clashes between Somaliland and Puntland forces
in northwestern Somalia were reported on the next day. On
February 9, regional authorities of Khatumo State accused Somaliland
to mount a campaign against the Khatumo-affiliated
regional leader in Buhoodle district, Cayn province. Somalia's
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Puntland leaders, and Somaliland's
foreign affairs minister attended the Tana Security
Forum on April 17 in Bahar Dar, Ethiopia. In mid-June, tensions
between clans in the disputed Sool region, which were
allegedly fuelled by Somaliland, led to several clashes, leaving
twelve people dead. Khatumo forces allegedly attacked
Somaliland troops in the city of Las'anod, Sool, and Buhoodle
town, Cayn, on July 11. One week later, Somaliland and Puntland
forces clashed in Boodacadde area, Sanaag province,
leaving five dead, allegedly using light and heavy weapons.
The fighting erupted while Somaliland authorities undertook
voter registration in this area for the upcoming Somaliland
presidential election.
While presidential elections were scheduled for March 2017,
the parliamentary elections were again postponed for an unspecified
period by Somaliland's President Ahmed Mohamed
Silanyo on September 16. This was instantly criticized by the
British government on behalf of international donor countries.
The next parliamentary election had been originally
scheduled for September 2010, but had since been postponed
twice because of unpreparedness of the National Electoral
Commission. On August 9, Somaliland and Khatumo officials
held talks in the city of Aynabo, Sool, concerning the
status of Sool state. Somaliland and Khatumo officials set up
another round of talks in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on
November 1. During November and December, the northern
parts of Somalia, comprising Somaliland, Khatumo state, and
Puntland, were beset with a prolonged drought, becoming the
major issue in domestic politics.
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