Las Anod (Somalia Today) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived Friday in Las Anod, the seat of Somalia’s newly formed North Eastern State. It was the first visit by a sitting head of state in more than four decades, as Mogadishu seeks to anchor the region more firmly in Somalia’s federal system.
Mohamud travelled to inaugurate the administration of the newly formed Northeast State, which emerged from the SSC-Khaatumo movement.
The move reinforces Mogadishu’s backing of the region after local forces pushed Somaliland’s troops out of Las Anod in 2023 following months of fighting.
Crowds lined the streets as Northeast State President Abdulkadir Aw Ali Firdhiye and security officials welcomed Mohamud on the tarmac. The trip highlights the city’s new political role after a period of heavy fighting.
“The President’s visit is a symbol of unity and the federal government’s commitment to the territorial integrity of the Somali people,” the presidency said in a statement distributed by its media office.
A new chapter
For residents of Las Anod, the visit marks a rare moment of national attention. The city, the administrative capital of the Sool region, has not hosted a sitting Somali president since 1984, when then-president Mohamed Siad Barre travelled there years after a presidential assassination in the same city.
Mohamud’s delegation includes Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, as well as senior security officials, including the Police Commissioner and the Director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA).
Their presence adds political and security weight to the visit. Mohamud is expected to hold closed-door talks with local leaders on integrating regional forces into national structures and on funding reconstruction after the war.
“I think this is a morale boost for people who have endured long conflicts,” said Zahra Abdullahi, a political analyst in the region. “It signals that the country has diverse political strategies at play, though the ultimate goal must be a unified consensus.”
State built after war
The new administration traces its roots to SSC-Khaatumo, a pro-unity movement that coalesced in and around Las Anod as anger grew over killings and disputes linked to Somaliland’s security presence.
Traditional elders issued a declaration in Las Anod on Feb. 6, 2023, rejecting Somaliland’s authority and calling for alignment with the Federal Republic of Somalia, a step that formalised the political break.
The violence that followed displaced large numbers of civilians. The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) estimated that recurrent fighting in and around Las Anod displaced roughly 154,000 to 203,000 people by early April 2023, while aid agencies warned that families were fleeing with little food, water or shelter.
Somalia’s interior ministry later endorsed SSC-Khaatumo as an interim administration in October 2023, urging de-escalation and a political process.
The conflict shifted on Aug. 25, 2023, when SSC-Khaatumo forces overran Somaliland positions at the Goojacade base outside Las Anod, ending Somaliland’s effective control of the city.
Delegates later proclaimed the North Eastern State of Somalia and adopted a regional constitution in a state-formation conference in Las Anod in July 2025.
Ahmed Abdi, a Mogadishu-based analyst, said the president’s visit “puts a national seal” on the emerging administration and raises expectations that Mogadishu will follow symbolism with security guarantees and resources.
The president’s arrival also carries historical resonance. Las Anod is where a bodyguard assassinated President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke on Oct. 15, 1969.
The killing helped set the stage for the military coup led by Siad Barre six days later.
Regional tensions
While the focus in Las Anod is on the inauguration, the visit also touches on a territorial dispute.
Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991, still claims Las Anod and much of Sool as part of its territory, arguing its borders follow those of the former British Somaliland protectorate.
Analysts say Mohamud’s presence in Las Anod challenges Somaliland’s effort to present Sool as settled within its inherited colonial boundary and instead treats the area as a federal political space where Mogadishu can support new institutions.
The visit also comes amid wider diplomatic tremors after Israel recognised Somaliland, sharpening Somalia’s rhetoric on sovereignty and raising questions about whether recognition could draw the northern coast deeper into Middle East security competition.
Somaliland officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the visit.
For Las Anod’s residents, the next test is delivery: whether the federal government can translate the visit into security arrangements that hold, timely salaries, and reconstruction for a city still recovering from war.
