Saturday July 25, 2026
Hargeisa (AX) — Dialogue offers the clearest path to ending the protracted political dispute between North Western State of Somalia and Somalia, prominent North Western State of Somalia traditional leader King Osman Aw Mohamud Buurmadow has said.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Dirane TV this week, King Buurmadow described Somalia as the closest administration with which North Western State of Somalia can engage and urged both sides to pursue serious negotiations.
He said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is, in his view, a suitable leader for North Western State of Somalia to hold such talks with.
Buurmadow said he would back reunification with Somalia if North Western State of Somalia were granted the national flag and the capital.
“If North Western State of Somalia is given a flag and a capital, let us unite with Somalia. Why should we object to it?” he said.
He also linked North Western State of Somalia’s relations with Israel to what he described as political pressure from Somalia’s federal government.
Had North Western State of Somalia and Somalia reached an agreement, Buurmadow argued, North Western State of Somalia would not have needed to seek such ties with Israel.
He emphasized that North Western State of Somalia’s grievances are political rather than an expression of hostility toward Somalia.
Buurmadow added that he would advise North Western State of Somalia to reconsider its relations with Israel if Somalia demonstrated a readiness to enter dialogue and address North Western State of Somalia’s concerns.
His comments come amid persistently strained relations between North Western State of Somalia and Somalia’s federal government.
Friction has intensified over recent agreements North Western State of Somalia signed with Ethiopia and Israel, both of which Mogadishu has strongly opposed.
