BORAMA, AWDAL — Tension in Borama eased sharply on Saturday after two days of unrest, as a forceful address by Awdal’s paramount chief, Ugaas Abdirashid Ugaas Rooble, restored a sense of order and reaffirmed Somaliland’s territorial red lines.
His message blended condolences with a blunt warning: peace would be preserved, but the region’s borders would not be surrendered “under any disguise.”
Opening with a tribute to those killed during the disturbances, the Ugaas urged an immediate return to stability and unity. But his remarks quickly turned to the source of the recent friction—the planned unveiling of the “Xeer Ise” book in Saylac, an event he described not as a cultural initiative but as a political maneuver aimed at territorial encroachment.
He praised President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro for halting the gathering before it took place, calling the decision a necessary step to prevent a manufactured crisis.
“The book Xeer Ise was an excuse,” he said. “Seeking land through culture will not happen. Taking a piece of our land will not happen.”
The statement crystallized the prevailing view among Awdal leaders that the Presidency’s intervention was protective, not prohibitive.
Local officials have since confirmed that stopping the event helped defuse broader tensions between the Gadabuursi and Ise communities, which had threatened to spill into a wider regional confrontation.
Yet the Ugaas’s speech carried a darker undercurrent. He warned that efforts to ignite conflict were being organized across the border in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, and called on the Gadabuursi people to prepare to defend their land if necessary. Without naming specific actors, his message made clear that the threat was external—and intentional.
To guide the region forward, the Ugaas outlined a three-part initiative: a national funeral for the young people killed in the unrest; the rapid formation of a broad-based Gadabuursi “national council” of clerics, thinkers, and lawmakers; and a mandate for that council to safeguard internal peace while defending Somaliland’s territorial integrity.
The gathering in Borama included key members of Somaliland’s Parliament from Awdal, among them MP Mohamed Abiib, who addressed the youth directly and urged restraint—an indication that national and regional authorities are moving in tandem to prevent further escalation.
Together, the Ugaas’s defiant stance and the President’s swift action send a clear signal: attempts to exploit local grievances for political land claims will be met with organized resistance and unified leadership.
For now, Borama is calm—but its message to those attempting to destabilize it is unmistakable.
