Garowe (PP News Desk) — The Somaliland Administration has come under criticism for rejecting a detainee exchange initiative facilitated by the Federal Government of Somalia. Somaliland’s Information Minister yesterday said that only the direct parties to the conflict — the Somaliland Administration and the SSCK (Sool, Sanaag, Cayn and Khatumo) administration — have the legitimacy “to arrange such exchanges”.
The SSC administration recently handed over 25 Somaliland detainees to the Federal Government of Somalia in a goodwill gesture, aiming to initiate a formal exchange of detainees captured during the 2023 Laascaanood conflict.
Critics argue that Somaliland’s position is politically untenable. Historical precedent shows that third-party-facilitated exchanges are not unprecedented — in 2005, a successful exchange between Puntland and Somaliland was arranged by civil society groups.
Somaliland detainees, some of whom hold Somali Region of Ethiopia identification or claim to hail from cross-border communities such as Awaare, Dawa’aley and Awbarre, complicate the situation. Their political identity raises questions about legal jurisdiction, which reinforce the Somali Federal Government’s role as a more neutral and capable authority in such matters.
© Puntland Post, 2025
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