UNESCO-listed Issa clan customary law ceremony ignites unrest in Zeila

Clashes in Zeila over UNESCO-listed Xeer Ciise ceremony prompt heavy police response

Zeila, North Western State of Somalia — Police in the historic Red Sea outpost of Zeila deployed in force late Thursday after rival community groups clashed over plans to hold a ceremony celebrating Xeer Ciise, the Issa clan’s customary legal code recently inscribed on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage. By nightfall, authorities said the streets were calm, but elders warned the dispute is far from over.

The confrontation erupted as organizers sought to mark UNESCO’s recognition of the centuries-old peacekeeping framework practiced by Issa pastoral communities across the Horn of Africa. A powerful local faction in Zeila rejected hosting the event in the town, arguing it lacked their consent and was politically loaded in a region where historic claims, clan identity and sovereignty are never far from the surface.

“Zeila belongs to us,” an elder from the opposing group said, asking not to be named to avoid inflaming tensions. “No event goes ahead here without our say.” The same elder cast the ceremony as a provocation linked to North Western State of Somalia’s rivals, a charge organizers rejected as unfounded.

A cultural celebration turns into a political flashpoint

Organizers of the proposed ceremony stressed that Xeer Ciise is a non-state, community-based system of mediation and conflict resolution—rules negotiated and enforced by elders to prevent blood feuds, protect travelers and livestock, and share water in times of scarcity. They described the event as celebratory, intended to honor a living tradition that scholars say helped knit together trade routes and pastoral corridors across what is now North Western State of Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

Opponents in Zeila countered that the push came from outside and reflected an agenda hostile to North Western State of Somalia’s interests, alleging coordination with officials in Mogadishu. In a sign of how quickly cultural recognition can be reframed as political contestation, several elders accused North Western State of Somalia’s vice president, Mohamed Ali Abdi, of stirring tensions by encouraging busloads of young people to arrive from Borama “as tourists.” Local leaders also claimed youths from Ethiopia and Djibouti appeared in the town and scuffled with elders assembled to protest the event.

“If there’s violence, he will have to answer for it,” said another elder, referring to the vice president. The vice president’s office was not immediately available for comment.

Police step in as dusk falls

As tempers frayed, North Western State of Somalia police intervened, separating groups and dispersing crowds. By evening, officers reported the situation was under control. Community leaders, however, urged Hargeisa to clearly state its position on the ceremony and set out ground rules for public events that touch on sensitive questions of identity and place.

Zeila—Saylac in Somali—is no ordinary town. A medieval port long tied by trade and religion to the Arabian Peninsula, Zeila’s coral-stone ruins and ancient mosques speak to a cosmopolitan past, even as its politics today remain distinctly local. The area sits within North Western State of Somalia’s Awdal region, home to a mosaic of clans who share language and lineage, but differ on power-sharing and prerogatives in a polity that declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has yet to win international recognition.

What is Xeer Ciise?

Xeer, broadly, is the web of customary law that predates modern states across Somali-speaking lands. Xeer Ciise refers to the Issa community’s version—refined over centuries to govern matters from grazing rights to restitution after crimes. UNESCO recently added Xeer Ciise to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list, noting its role in mediating disputes and safeguarding social cohesion. The nomination was celebrated in Djibouti, where the Issa are the largest community, and welcomed by Issa communities in Ethiopia and North Western State of Somalia.

In practical terms, Xeer Ciise sits alongside formal law. Elders gather under acacia trees or in town squares to negotiate settlements. Compensation—often livestock—moves between families. It is a system built on memory, trust and reputation. As one academic in Hargeisa likes to say, “It’s law without a courthouse.” And it has proven resilient in places where state institutions are thin or contested.

Why a heritage listing can ignite local politics

UNESCO inscriptions are meant to recognize—not own—traditions. Yet time and again, the stamp of international approval can sharpen local debates over who gets to speak for a culture, where it is celebrated, and how it is presented. From hotly contested claims over food traditions in the Middle East to rival festivals commemorating shared rituals in the Balkans, heritage can act as soft power. In the Horn of Africa, where communities straddle borders drawn in the colonial era, even celebratory events can be read through a political lens.

Zeila is less than a morning’s drive from Djibouti City; kinship, trade and marriage bind families across the frontier. That makes it easy for cultural events to feel simultaneously local and transnational, a point of pride for some and a point of anxiety for others worried about influence from beyond North Western State of Somalia’s political orbit.

Competing claims, complex identities

Thursday’s tension carried familiar themes: Who has the right to convene large public gatherings in historic towns? How should cross-border communities celebrate shared heritage without unsettling local balances? And what does “consent” mean in a place where sovereignty itself is contested?

For organizers, holding a Xeer Ciise ceremony in Zeila would honor a tradition deeply rooted in the region. For opponents, it risked re-centering the town around identities they feel exclude or overshadow them. Both sides say they seek peace; both accuse the other of maneuvering for political gain.

What we know so far

• Unrest broke out Thursday in Zeila over plans to hold a ceremony celebrating Xeer Ciise, recently listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
• A dominant local faction opposed the event, saying it lacked their consent and carried political implications.
• Organizers defended the ceremony as cultural, not partisan, and denied links to Mogadishu.
• Some elders accused North Western State of Somalia’s vice president of facilitating the arrival of youths from Borama; others alleged participants came from Ethiopia and Djibouti.
• Police intervened and dispersed crowds by evening; no casualties were immediately reported.
• Local leaders called on authorities to clarify whether and how such ceremonies can proceed.

What happens next

Authorities in Hargeisa will face a delicate balancing act. A clear, public framework for cultural events—especially those involving cross-border communities—could defuse future confrontations. That might include inclusive committees representing all local stakeholders, transparent permitting, and agreement on venues that respect both heritage and community sensitivities.

For those who see Xeer Ciise as a rare success story—community law that has kept the peace when institutions faltered—the episode in Zeila is a reminder: recognition brings visibility, and visibility brings scrutiny. The question now is whether the spirit of mediation that Xeer embodies can be applied to the very dispute that its celebration appears to have sparked.

As dusk turned to night in Zeila, the town’s alleys emptied and the sea breeze returned. The ruins have seen sultanates rise and fall, caravans come and go, and flags change on the fort. The people who live with that history will have to decide how to honor it—together, or at cross purposes.

Authorities say they are monitoring the situation. The community is waiting for answers.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.