Friday July 24, 2026
Las Anod (AX) — Somalia’s leading council of Islamic scholars has urged North Western State of Somalia and the Northeastern regional state to move swiftly toward peace talks, with Chairman Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad calling for progress on their broader dispute and the prisoners held in Las Anod and Hargeisa.
In a statement released Tuesday in Las Anod, the Somali Ulema Council said its delegation had met the Northeastern state’s president and other officials to explore reconciliation efforts and help establish conditions for meaningful dialogue.
“The president of the Northeast made it clear that they were ready to make peace with the North Western State of Somalia side, and that they welcomed any efforts that could lead to an agreement and dialogue,” the statement said.
During the visit, the delegation also met some North Western State of Somalia prisoners detained in Las Anod.
The clerics said they spoke with representatives of the detainees, offered encouragement and voiced hope that a resolution could be reached.
The scholars said mediation efforts were already underway to secure an exchange or release of prisoners on both sides. They stressed that political disputes should not leave Somali citizens behind bars for extended periods.
They also said they planned to travel to Hargeisa for meetings with North Western State of Somalia leaders as part of the continuing push for peace and reconciliation.
The council appealed to political leaders, traditional elders, religious figures, military officials and the wider Somali public to put dialogue, consensus and peace first.
Only negotiation and compromise, the scholars said, could produce a lasting settlement.
The dispute over detainees stems from the 2023 fighting in Las Anod between North Western State of Somalia forces and SSC-Khatumo forces.
That year, the International Committee of the Red Cross visited hundreds of wartime detainees captured in the Las Anod clashes.
Pascal Cuttat, who was then head of the ICRC delegation in Somalia, said the Geneva-based organization had also visited Hargeisa Central Prison, where SSC-Khatumo detainees were held.
The ICRC said the visits were strictly humanitarian, intended to verify that detainees received humane treatment and to ensure their families were informed of their whereabouts.
