Somaliland refuses to recognize President Youssef Ahmad
Somalia, Politics, 10/13/2004

Somaliland which was declared unilaterally refused to recognize the authority of the President of Somalia Abdullah Youssef Ahmad and warned him against the attempt of annexing it to the Somali territories.

A statement by the minister of information Abdullah Muhammad Dawali said that any step to annex the district will be considered a " flagrant violation to Somaliland " calling on the neighboring states, the African Union, the European Union and the US to avert an open confrontation. The Interim Somali parliament elected last Sunday Abdullah Youssef Ahmad as a president of Somalia for four years but Somaliland did not take part in his election.

However, the election of Youssef Ahmad did not only revive the hopes to bringing back calm to Somalia but also opened the dialogue over the political future of the split district.

Before his election Youssef Ahmad was controlling Puntland district which launched frequent wars with Somaliland in their conflicts to control certain border areas.

Somaliland district is inhabited by 2.5 inhabitants and it announced separation from Somalia amid a state of chaos which followed the collapse of the regime of Seyad Berri in 1991 and since then it has been enjoying relative calm.

Previous Stories:
  Somali President promises stability demands international forces   (10/11/2004)
  15 killed in violent clashes in Somalia   (9/18/2004)
  Speaker of the interim parliament in Somalia elected   (9/16/2004)

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