Somaliland President bemoans on high-security budget due to clan and youth violence

Borama (Somaliland.com) – President of the Republic of Somaliland, HE Muse Bihi Abdi, lamented yesterday that 38 percent of the national budget was allocated to security and peace-making activities, and this could be interpreted the country as being in a state of war.

President Bihi, who attended the graduation ceremony for Amoud University students in Borama on Wednesday 11 September, said that Somaliland is still recovering from the state of clan wars and that local communities do not trust each other and civil armed conflicts can happen due to illegal weapons at hands of the citizens.

The President of the Republic of Somaliland has said that the security budget does not allow Somaliland to buy arms and weapons, but rather to deal with the ongoing clan wars in some regions.

Mr. Bihi, on the other hand, worried about the use of the internet and said the internet had eliminated the role of elders in the time of conflict. He said that the Internet now controls Somali affairs and is adding fuel into ongoing inter-clan violence.

The president, speaking on the circumstances of the youth, said that the main jail in Hargeisa contains more than 2,500 prisoners, 40 percent of whom are under the age of 30, from major cities. They were convicted to crimes ranging from acts of violence and security disturbances including robbery and self-harm, sometimes due to clan issues.

President Bihi concluded that the cause youth violence is a mental disorder, resulting from of the modern technology, which he said that it needs collaboration on proper control and safer use.