Borama (Somalia Today) — At least 10 people have been killed and more than 45 wounded in clashes between Somaliland security forces and protesters in the western city of Borama, local officials and community leaders say.
The confrontation, the bloodiest in Awdal in years, erupted after the government pushed ahead with plans to host a high-profile Xeer Ciise ceremony in the coastal town of Saylac next week, despite months of local opposition.
Residents said Borama woke up on Friday to shuttered shops, smoke hanging over major junctions, and armoured vehicles roaming the streets, as fresh gunfire and sporadic protests kept tension high.
Hospitals reported a steady flow of casualties through the night and into the morning.
Street battles
The unrest began on Thursday evening as youth and women marched through Borama to denounce the decision to stage the Xeer Ciise celebration in Saylac on December 14.
Protesters blocked main roads with stones, set tyres ablaze, and chanted slogans against the event and the authorities in Hargeisa.
Some groups attacked state-linked targets, including the local branch of the Central Bank, in a direct challenge to the government’s authority.
Police units and armoured vehicles then moved in. Witnesses said officers fired live rounds as well as shots into the air while chasing protesters through side streets.
Videos shared online showed panicked crowds running for cover and wounded men being carried away on motorbikes and pick-up trucks.
By Friday, elders and medical staff were speaking of at least 10 dead and more than 45 injured, many with gunshot wounds. However, Somaliland authorities have so far only confirmed two deaths from the first night of protests.
Police blame ‘saboteurs’
Security officials insist they are trying to restore order, not crush dissent.
Regional police commander Abdirahman Abdillahi “Abdi Dhere” said officers fired warning shots to protect lives and property and accused “groups with private agendas” of hijacking the demonstrations for looting and arson.
“People can protest and oppose decisions,” he said. “But burning Borama and destroying public and private assets is not acceptable.”
He warned that the force would no longer tolerate attacks on infrastructure after protesters targeted the Central Bank office and other government-linked sites.
At the same time, he urged residents to pull back from confrontation and to stop damaging property in a city he described as “one of the most beautiful in Somaliland.”
Doctors treated a surge of wounded through the night and elders say the shootings should be investigated.
Others suffered fractures and head wounds from stampedes and clashes in crowded alleys. Families crowded hospital corridors, waiting for news as blood donors were called in.
Elders fear the death toll will climb if more protests erupt again or if security forces continue to use live ammunition in densely populated areas. Several have called for an independent investigation into the shootings.
Trigger: Xeer Ciise
Behind the violence lies a bitter dispute over the symbolism and location of the Xeer Ciise ceremony.
Xeer Ciise – an elaborate customary code followed by Issa communities straddling Djibouti, Ethiopia, and parts of north-west Somalia – gained international attention after it was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Somaliland’s government now wants to host a major public commemoration in Saylac, a coastal town with layered Issa and Gadabuursi claims.
On Thursday, Information Minister Ahmed Yasin Sheikh Ali “Ayanle” announced that the state had formally authorised the gathering in Saylac on December 14 and would take charge of security, logistics, and preparation.
He framed the decision as a national cultural event and said all Somaliland citizens were equal before the law, rejecting any attempt to draw “tribal borders” inside the republic.
Many in Awdal and the nearby Salal region see it differently.
Influential Gadabuursi figures argue that the format and location of the celebration sideline their historic claims to Saylac and hand a symbolic victory to Issa elites.
They accuse Hargeisa of using culture and heritage to redraw political lines on the ground without meaningful consultation.
Ultimatum to Irro
As the streets of Borama burned, the political temperature also spiked.
Mohamed Abiib Yusuf, a well-known MP from Awdal, issued a blunt ultimatum to President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi “Irro”, who only took office weeks ago.
Abiib accused the president of sending newly “nationalised” militias into Borama and folding them into the army without proper training. He alleged that these fighters were now “openly killing civilians” in the city.
He gave Irro six hours to withdraw the forces from Borama and publicly apologise for the bloodshed.
If the president failed to act before sunset, he warned, local leaders would convene and “take decisions” – a veiled threat that many read as a hint of organised resistance.
Abiib also lashed out at what he called months of heavy-handed deployments in Awdal rather than genuine mediation between communities divided over the Xeer Ciise ceremony.
He argued that the government had “pitted clans against each other” and only turned to force when that strategy failed.
Government digs in
So far, there is no sign that Hargeisa is ready to retreat.
In his announcement, Minister Ayanle said Somaliland would host the Xeer Ciise event as planned and would assume full responsibility for security and logistics.
He stressed that the state would not allow any group to claim exclusive ownership of territory or to draw clan borders inside Somaliland.
Officials argue that rolling back the decision now would reward street pressure and risk fragmenting the country into rival strongholds.
On the ground, however, the show of force is feeding anger. Residents reported fresh troop movements into Borama and new checkpoints on roads leading into and out of the city.
Protest organisers vowed to keep up pressure, insisting they will not accept the Saylac ceremony in its current form.
In several neighbourhoods, demonstrators waved flags linked to the “Awdal State” movement, which calls for the region to break away from Somaliland and join Somalia’s federal system. For many in Hargeisa, that crosses a red line.
Echoes of Las Anod
The scenes from Borama have revived uneasy memories of Las Anod.
In early 2023, protests in that eastern city over unresolved killings spiralled into a full-blown uprising. Somaliland forces were eventually driven out after months of fierce urban warfare, and the city is now controlled by SSC-Khaatumo authorities aligned with Mogadishu.
Diplomats and analysts warn that Awdal is not there yet, but say the ingredients are worrying: lethal force against protesters, rising regional nationalism, and a president caught between promises of reform and pressure from hardliners.
“There are two paths in front of them,” one Awdal elder told Somalia Today by phone. “They can treat this as a political crisis and open talks, or they can treat it as a security problem and send more troops. If they choose the second path, Borama will not forget.”
By Friday afternoon, Borama remained on edge.
Some markets cautiously reopened, but many traders kept their doors locked, fearing new clashes. Young men hovered at junctions, ready to regroup, while security forces patrolled in pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns.
Families moved between hospitals and mosques, preparing funerals for those killed. Community leaders shuttled between meetings, trying to keep protests from sliding into open revolt while still channelling the anger that had built over the years.
President Irro came to power promising dialogue and a softer hand after years of criticism over security crackdowns. The bloodshed in Borama now tests that promise. How he responds – to both the Xeer Ciise dispute and the deaths in Awdal – will shape not only his presidency, but also Somaliland’s grip on its restive western gateway.
