HARGEISA (SD)– The President of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), speaking at an event in Hargeisa today, described the visit of Somali government leaders to the city of Las Anod in the Sool region—the seat of the Northeastern Somalia administration—as a provocation and an invasion.

The President called upon the people of Somaliland to prepare to defend their land, stating that anyone who commits aggression will face severe consequences.

His remarks come as the President and Prime Minister of Somalia arrived in Las Anod today, joining other senior Federal Government officials who were already present to attend the inauguration ceremony of the leader of Las Anod administration, which is taking place there.

The Somaliland President stated that Somaliland harbors no conflict or ill-will towards anyone, emphasizing that Somaliland has chosen the path of statehood, stability, and peaceful coexistence. However, it will never deviate from defending its sovereignty and national existence.

The President underscored that Somaliland’s response to nations calling for war against it will not be based on recklessness or impulsiveness, but rather on political wisdom, unified national defense, and diplomacy founded on reason and responsibility.

Speaking on the value that recognition holds for the people of Somaliland, the President said:

“Recognition is not a gift to be given lightly. We have earned it through a long struggle, achieved through responsibility, the stability we have established, the democratic system we have implemented, good governance, and the encouragement of free-market commerce. Somaliland has built a complete statehood that protects its land and people. It plays a key role in the stability of the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. The world has recognized Somaliland as a responsible nation that can be engaged with. That is what has led to Somaliland’s recognition.”

The President of the Republic of Somaliland reiterated that Somaliland’s existence and recognition pose a threat to no one. Instead, Somaliland’s recognition and independence are the right and aspiration of its people, a people who wish to live in their country with honor, peace, and dignity.

Speaking on Somaliland’s rich history and the legitimacy of its independence, the President stated:

“We declare with great pride that the Republic of Somaliland is a nation and a people with a deep history. It was the first to achieve independence, and its independence was dedicated to creating a Greater Somalia, which became a shattered dream. Djibouti stands alone, the Somali region is part of Ethiopia, and NFD is part of Kenya. So, I ask Somalis: what compels Somalia and Somaliland to be one?”

President Irro’s characterization of the FGS leaders’ presence in Las Anod as an “invasion” is a deliberate and it transforms a political event (an inauguration) into a casus belli (act justifying war). This framing serves to mobilize national sentiment, justify a heightened military posture, and internationalize the local conflict by showing Somalia as the aggressor violating a peaceable neighbor’s territory.

The President’s historical argument is a powerful and ironic twist. He invokes the failed dream of a “Greater Somalia” (uniting all Somali-inhabited lands) to justify why the original Somali Republic (the 1960 union) should dissolve. Since the pan-Somali dream is dead (with Djibouti independent and Somali regions in Ethiopia/Kenya), the micro-union between Somaliland and Somalia is also obsolete. This turns Somali nationalism on its head, using its failure to legitimize Somaliland’s reindependence.

President Irro’s speech successfully reframes Somaliland from a seeking-recognition entity to a sovereign-state-under-threat. It appropriates Somali nationalist history to bury the union and presents Somaliland as the Horn’s mature, responsible state. The visit to Las Anod has backfired for Mogadishu in the narrative war, providing Somaliland with the perfect pretext to rally its people and justify its separatist project as an act of national defense. The conflict has now entered a phase where symbolic acts in contested territories could trigger real hostilities, with both presidents having painted themselves into corners where backing down would mean a catastrophic loss of face and legitimacy. The next move, whether military, diplomatic, or both, will determine if this war of words becomes a war of weapons.