Ex-Presidential Candidate of Somalia acknowledges 1980s Genocide in Somaliland

SOMALILAND.COM – Somalia’s 2012 presidential candidate, Omar Salad Elmi, and former governor of the Maroodijeh region in the 1970s acknowledged genocide against the people of Somaliland by the military junta of Siyad Barre. 

He differentiated between the civil wars in Somalia and Somaliland – then known as the Northern regions of the Somali Republic. 

He said the civil war in Southern Somalia was clan convulsions while in Somaliland, the Somali state committed genocide against its people. 

The former governor said he was trying to answer to people from Somalia who regularly downplay the genocide against the people of Somalia by arguing that Somalis everywhere fought each other.  

Omar Salad Elmi made these remarks in Hargeisa where he visited multiple times since Somaliland unilaterally declared independence in 1991. 

On the other hand, Omar Salad stressed that he still believes in unity between Somaliland and Somalia. However, he criticized the current efforts to bring together the two countries saying it will not succeed. 

He further blamed the southern politicians for the unilateral independence Somaliland declared in 1991. The former governor/mayor said USC leaders in Mogadishu 

Omar Salad Elmi joins the high ranking Somalia politicians who recently started to acknowledge the atrocities against Somaliland people. 

Omar Salad Elmi was the mayor of Hargeisa and governor of Maroodijeh between 1973 to 1980. Afterward, he became a member of SSDF and SNM armed groups that fought against the Siyad Barre regime. In 2012, he ran for president in 2012.