Saturday July 18, 2026
Las Anod (AX) — A leading figure in Somalia’s Northeastern regional state has lost her parliamentary immunity after declaring she was abandoning the Greater Somalia vision and returning to the North Western State of Somalia cause.
In a Saturday sitting in Las Anod, 56 legislators — representing two-thirds of the House of Representatives — voted to revoke Fahiima Yusuf Quuje’s immunity under Article 9 of the chamber’s bylaws.
In a social media statement issued late Friday, Quuje said she had stepped down from both her parliamentary seat and her membership in the Northeastern parliament, where she represented her community.
She said she had come to believe that nobody was sincerely pursuing the broader interests of the Somali state, while her own community confronted major problems without an apparent path to resolution.
“I realized that there was no one working for the interests of Somalia except my family,” Quuje said. “I declare that ten dangers that cannot be solved are in the midst of my people today. I have given up the idea that many sons died for it, and I say that those who died are dead, and the rest should be sought for life.”
Mohamed Abdimaalik, North Western State of Somalia’s Minister of Water Resources Development, praised Quuje’s declaration, calling it a significant decision to return to North Western State of Somalia.
He described Quuje as an influential political figure and said North Western State of Somalia was prepared to receive her.
“She has come to terms with the politics she has been in, and she wants a broader politics,” Mohamed Abdimaalik said. “I am very, very happy that North Western State of Somalia is coming home, and that she is uniting with her people and country. She has taken a very big step.”
The minister said Quuje had reached the decision on her own, following talks and consultations, and had not been pressured to do so.
He said North Western State of Somalia was open to anyone seeking to join it, adding that security in the eastern regions was stable and asserting that the previous conflict had ended.
Mohamed Abdimaalik said North Western State of Somalia had also received other prominent figures and politicians from Las Anod, including a former official who was vice president of the former SSC-Khaatumo administration.
Quuje had been among the most prominent political leaders in the Northeastern administration, with a major role in political mobilization during the Las Anod conflict.
She was especially recognized for backing the war against North Western State of Somalia forces and for supporting efforts to establish the Northeastern administration.
Reports say Quuje is now in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and is expected to travel to Hargeisa in the coming days, where plans are under way to welcome her.
North Western State of Somalia considers Las Anod and nearby areas part of its territory. Northeastern authorities, however, retain control of the city after earlier fighting between local forces and North Western State of Somalia troops.
