Somaliland President Imposes State-of-Emergency to Sanaag Region

President of the Republic of Somaliland, HE Muse Bihi Abdi has today imposed a state of emergency of three months to three districts in Sanaag region.

In a press conference by the speaker of the presidential palace told the media that due to recent security incidents, are behind the declaration of the State-of-Emergency for three districts, Garadag, El-Afweyn, and Erigavo of Sanaag region, in the eastern part of the country.

This comes 24 hours after the murder of two senior security officers of Garadag district, killed by local gunmen in a remote area while they were traveling.

To prevent these recurrent insecurities in the Sanaag region and to safeguard the lives and the wealth of the citizens, the president ordered the armed forces to take over the control of these districts, the presidential proclamation stated.

This State-of-Emergency Proclamation by the president was submitted to the parliament, and a joint session is called on Thursday to ratify the president’s call.

This is the first time in a long time that the Somalilanders to experience a state of emergency related to insecurity in Somaliland.

Somaliland is regarded as the most peaceful country in the Horn of Africa. Terrorism and homicide crimes are almost nonexistence, apart from three security incidents in this week, the killing of the two police officers, the failed bomb attempt in Tog-Wachale and the death of two civilian men in a rural area in Erigavo district.

Sanaag region is the largest province in Somaliland. It is estimated around 38% of the total area of the country. It lies in the eastern part of the country, bordering with Sahil, Togdheer and Sool regions of Somaliland, Puntland State of Somalia and the Red Sea. The population of the Sanaag province is sparsely scattered in mountainous areas, plains and seashores of the region.

Read also: Gunmen Kill Two Senior Security Officers in Saraar Region of Somaliland