Somaliland has enjoyed relative peace for more than 25 years. What has changed?

Delayed elections and armed conflict threaten dream of statehood for Somaliland. It has reached a fork on the political road, and now seems to be resembling southern Somalia, which for many years was defined by constant wars and violence.

With a presidential election delayed for months and deadly clashes between security forces and clan militias, Somaliland’s reputation for stability lies in ruins. Violence erupted in the breakaway northern Somalia region a few weeks after elections were postponed late last year. President Muse Bihi Abdi, in power since November 2017, has been accused of sidelining some clans which have in turn demanded separation and direct administration from Mogadishu.

Mohamed Haji Ingiriis, a Somali scholar who specialises in the Somali state and society, examines Somaliland’s rapid slide to instability. He is a Fellow at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), King’s College London. Published in The Conversation.

MORE >> Violence in Somaliland.