Puntland may have been militarily defeated but by all accounts the locals simply failed to throw flowers at the liberating forces from the west as Hargeisa had hoped.
The fact that the take-over was accomplished by local Las Anodis lead by pro-Somaliland men made little difference. The victors are largely seen by the overwhelming majority of the population as self-serving individuals at best and outright traitors at worst. This is not quite fair but since when fairness mattered to the Somali?
Puntland, which ran the place since it took over in 2002 breaking a gentlemanly agreement with Somaliland that neither side takes overall control of the disputed area, failed to govern the region properly.
Locals point out that when
But Somalis are not influenced by these mundanely practical things. Clan sentiment overides everything and on this overwhelmingly powerful indicator,
Somaliland’s claim on Las Anod is based on the legitimate case that it was within the borders of
But the fact remains that Las Anodis by a substantial majority do not want to be part of
But there is another fact: Las Anod does not matter to
The solution for
Ahmed Mohamed
October 31, 2007