On Saturday 19th November 2016, Somalia’s Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke through a press release said he had secured the first phase of ceasefire between two warring regions — Galmudug and Puntland.
PM Sharmarke’s effort comes two weeks after another negotiated peace deal collapsed and fresh fighting leaving at least 29 people killed.
The Galmudug and Puntland semi-autonomous regions have a history of clashes over the administrative town of Galkayo, a key town that is divided between the two sides.
In a follow up to the recent Abu Dhabi agreement on Galkayo conflict between Galmudug and Puntland regions, PM Sharmarke travelled too Galkayo and over the last one week has engaged the leadership of the two regions for an immediate ceasefire and subsequently initiated preliminary talks for a lasting peace.
Sharmarke met with Presidents Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and Abdikarim Hussein Guled at the site whereby the two leaders ordered their troop commanders to implement the shifting of troops to new assigned locations.
Somalia has been grappling with conflict since the downfall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in early 1990s, and Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group Al-Shabaab has been one of the main causes of unrest in the last two decades.
