MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – A map showcased at the welcoming ceremony of a Turkish oil exploration vessel in Mogadishu last week has provoked a strong backlash from Puntland and Hirshabelle regional authorities, who have accused the federal government of deliberately inciting inter-state and inter-clan conflicts within their territories.
In response to the map delineating the northern section of the Mudug region as disputed territory under Puntland’s jurisdiction, Puntland leader Saeed Abdullahi Deni vehemently condemned the action as a calculated maneuver to provoke conflict between his region and the neighboring Galmudug state.
“Mudug region is not in dispute, and we will not tolerate the actions of the Federal Government; there is no conflict between Galmudug and Puntland, and our portion of the Mudug region remains unequivocally under our control,” Puntland leader Saeed Abdullahi Deni said.
In a statement, Hirshabelle leader Ali Abdullahi Guudlaawe criticized the federal government for omitting his state from the map and accused Petroleum Minister Abdirisak Omar Mohamed of longstanding efforts to sow division among the communities in his state.
Somali Minister of Petroleum Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, addressing the controversy sparked by the erroneous map, distanced himself from the issue, asserting that the outdated map, created in 2015, was downloaded from the internet by the company organizing the ceremony; however, he refrained from apologizing for the incident, which not only embarrassed the federal government but also risked further aggravating tensions with regional states in dispute with federal authorities.
Mohamed accused Puntland leader Saeed Abdullahi Deni of denying that his region was surveyed and explored for oil and minerals, suggesting that the government’s use of the erroneous map appeared to be an act of retaliation for Deni’s opposition.
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