Hours of unrest erupted this morning in the Somaliland town of Saylac, after some locals refused to hold an event to commemorate the Xeer Ise, which was recently recognized by the UNESCO as an important human heritage.
One of the Saylac clans completely refused to hold the event in honor of this law in the city, arguing that the city belongs to them, and they will not allow anything to be done without their consultation.
“You are convinced, it is a prepared statement, the forbidden law will not be brought to Saylac, whoever owned it will sit in Saylac. Nothing we do can be done by anyone in the region, the people are Somaliland, our enemy is the enemy of Somaliland,” said the elders opposing the law.
They accused the people who were carrying out the Xeer Ise of being against Somaliland, and that they were organized in the town of Xamar; arguing that they were elders from the area, and called on the government to take action against those who carried out this law.
Elders, on the other hand, accused the Vice President of Somaliland, Mohamed Ali Abdi, of being responsible for the unrest in the town of Saylac, and of bringing youths from the town of Borama, who were said to be tourists, to the town, which caused the unrest.
Youth on the other hand also claimed that youths from Ethiopia and Djibouti were brought to the city, who attacked elders who were peacefully present in the city.
“If there is a riot, the Vice President is said to be responsible. We are not saying that Samaroon sent the youths, the Vice President sent them. Today we prevented it, it seems to be a wise man’s fault,” said the elders who are following the law.
Somaliland police dispersed youths from both sides, who were clashing in the city. Meanwhile, the situation in the city is now calm.
