Somali president attends inauguration of Northeast state leader in Las Anod

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre have attended the inauguration of the first president of Somalia’s sixth Federal Member State, the newly recognised Northeastern State, in Las Anod.

The ceremony was attended by Türkiye’s Ambassador Alper Aktaş, alongside ambassadors from Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as a high-level Djiboutian delegation.

The visit marked the first time a sitting Somali leader has travelled to the city in over four decades, underlining renewed efforts toward federal unity and national reconciliation.

Abdikadir Ahmed Aw-Cali, widely known as Firdhiye, was elected president in August 2025, a month after the region’s formal recognition as a Federal Member State.

Las Anod, in northern Somalia, has historically rejected the secessionist claims of the breakaway region of Somaliland and supported a united Somali state.

On December 26, 2025, Israel unilaterally recognised the breakaway region of Somaliland, a move widely condemned worldwide as a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.