A letter of appeal for cessation of hostilities to the leaders of Somaliland and Puntland    

To: - H.E. Dahir Rayale Kahin, President of Somaliland
- Speakers of the Houses of Somaliland
- Leaders of Somaliland Political Parties of UDUB, Kulmiye and UCID.

To:- H.E. Mohamed Adde Muse, President of the Autonomous State of Puntland, Somalia.
- Speaker of Puntland House

To: - Political and Traditional Leaders of Sool region.

Date: 21 Oct. 2007.

We, the undersigned concerned citizens of Somaliland and Puntland appeal to the above mentioned leaders of both Somaliland and Puntland to stop all kinds of hostilities in the Sool region and resort to reason and peaceful dialogue in resolving the dispute.

At a time when Somali blood is being spilled in many parts of the Somali peninsula, at a time when Somaliland and Puntland stand as shining examples of what the Somali people can achieve with their own wisdom and resources, it causes us great pain and sense of shame that such last beacons of peace and stability in the region, the last source of pride and identity for the Somali people are dragged into the abyss.

Being away from home and living with the shame of being Somali, it pains us deeper whenever we see another conflict and another war flare up in a previously peaceful part of our territory.

As the Somali proverb says “Dagaal wiil baa ku dhinta ee wiil kuma dhasho”, we remind you that as leaders of the nation you bear full responsibility for every child that dies, every mother that grieves, every elderly persons that are evicted from their homes and care, every young man or woman who is killed or is maimed by the fighting.

We have enough suffering, enough death, enough bloodshed, enough shame before the world of the daily carnage taking place in Mogadishu, the hundreds of women and children who lose their life in the sea in an attempt to escape from the life of fear, poverty, homelessness, misery and the hell that Southern Somalia has become.

We appeal to you that you don’t have to add more misery to the suffering and shame our people already carry.

War brings only death and death breeds more death and suffering. There is no winner in war; no heroism and pride in killing women, children and poor civilian people who are all blood relatives.

We, the undersigned are neither politicians nor have political ambitions, neither opposed to Somaliland people, nor have any enmity to Puntland people, we hail from both sides and view the people of both sides as our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and friends. Their pain is our pain and indeed your pain as well.

We, therefore, call upon you to stop the bloodshed, let the people of Sool return to their homes and allow the elders and the wise of people of Sool to resolve their conflict by their own.

We are hopeful that you would heed our honest call, because we know you also feel the pain more than we do and bear the responsibility for any more loss of life before the Almighty Allah and before those who lost or will lose their beloved ones in the conflict.

Names of signatories living in the UAE:

Puntland List:

Dr. Yousuf Hamud

Mr. Ali Abdulla Egeh

Dr. Noah Yaseen

Dr. Abdi Fokheye

Safi Abdi -Somali Writer 

Zahra Yousuf - Somali Business woman

AbdiRashid Husein Arab - Businessman

Amina Mohamoud Dahir -Student of Psychology

Hussein Abdi Mohamed

Somaliland List:

Omer Adan Liban

Awil Jama Haad

Noah Amin

Awil Abdillahi Farah

Abdillahi Abdurahman Ismail

Bashir Sh. Omar

Shamis Hussein (Somali writer)