GAROOWE (SD) – Puntland has issued a warning regarding reports that Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will travel to the city of Las Anod in the coming days to attend the inauguration ceremony of the President of the Northeastern Administration, Abdikadir Ahmed Aw Cali Firdhiye.

The Puntland Minister of Information, Mahmud Aydid Dirir, who held a press conference today in Garowe, accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of inciting conflict between the people of the Sool region and the Somaliland administration.

Minister Aidid stated that the Federal Government of Somalia is deploying troops in the Sool region, to wage war against the Somaliland administration.

He also confirmed that the Federal Government is planning to cooperate with the Turkish government to establish military bases in areas under Puntland control, which he described as an action that would create new conflict in the Horn of Africa.

Puntland’s warning comes after the Somali government recently indicated the possibility of war between Somalia and Somaliland following the recognition extended to Somaliland by Israel.

Additionally, the Somali President is reported to visit Las Anod, which is said to have become a base for Somali military operations against Somaliland.

Nevertheless, Somaliland has for some time been engaged in efforts to reorganize its forces and enhance the country’s security.

President Hassan’s planned visit to Las Anod is highly provocative. Las Anod is the disputed capital of the Sool region, claimed by both Somaliland and Puntland and recently the site of violent conflict.

The allegation that Mogadishu is negotiating Turkish military bases on Puntland’s territory is explosive. It would represent a massive overreach by the FGS, treating a federal member state’s land as its own to lease. This would severely rupture federal relations, push Puntland toward open rebellion, and draw Türkiye directly into Somalia’s internal federal conflicts, further complicating its role as a mediator.

Puntland’s intervention shatters the simple “Somalia vs. Somaliland” binary. It reveals that a major pillar of the Somali federation is deeply uneasy with Mogadishu’s confrontational path. This complicates Somalia’s war posture, as it cannot confidently rely on Puntland’s territory or forces. It suggests that any conflict could lead to the fragmentation of Somalia itself, with Puntland potentially pursuing its own course.

The immediate priority for all actors, including international partners, must be to de-escalate the situation in Sool and clarify the chain of command and territorial authority. Otherwise, the Horn of Africa may be on the brink of its most complex and intractable conflict in decades, where the lines between civil war, secessionist war, and interstate war become irredeemably blurred.