WARSAME DIGITAL MEDIA (WDM) EDITORIAL
When a foreign state openly invites large delegates of Somali citizens—comprising traditional elders, businesspeople, and ordinary civilians—from Puntland territory, the question writes itself: Has Puntland surrendered its sovereign agency over its own citizens?
Let’s be clear. This is not a mere cultural visit, nor an innocent diplomatic courtesy for several persons. This is huge active intelligence measures by Djibouti flexing its political muscles in Somalia’s northern theatre—a carefully choreographed act of soft subversion disguised as hospitality. In the age of proxy politics, every “invitation” carries a message, and every banquet has a price.
The Anatomy of Negligence
How did a sovereign regional government—one that claims political maturity and institutional capacity—allow an entire delegation of its residents to be dragged across borders by a foreign regime, without public consultation, without vetting, and without accountability?
This isn’t just poor coordination. It is a security breach of the first order. A lapse in intelligence coordination, an insult to Puntland’s authority, and an open mockery of its sovereignty. Where are the internal security agencies, the Ministry of Interior, and the political advisors who are supposed to defend the state’s interests?
When elders, who carry moral legitimacy in their communities, are courted by foreign regimes, they become tools of influence. And when a state like Djibouti—whose leadership thrives on manipulation and transactional diplomacy—hosts such delegations, the intent is rarely benign.
Who Bears the Blame?
Responsibility must be traced to those who looked the other way.
The Puntland security apparatus, for failing to regulate or monitor the movement of such groups.
The Counter-intelligience Agency.
And ultimately, the Puntland Presidency, for tolerating the erosion of the state’s external dignity.
In any functional state, this would trigger an inquiry. In Puntland, however, it risks becoming yet another “non-event” swept under the rug of political convenience.
Djibouti’s Political Theatre
Let us not be naïve. Djibouti’s aging autocrat, Ismail Omar Guelleh, has a well-documented record of meddling in Somali politics—from the infamous Arta Conference that fractured Somalia’s political landscape, to his more recent manipulations in the Horn.
By inviting Puntland citizens, Guelleh is not extending friendship. He is testing Puntland’s vigilance, probing for weakness, and possibly cultivating new agents of influence.
After SSC-KHAATUMO: The Price of Complacency
This intrusion comes right after the SSC-KHAATUMO episode, when Puntland leadership chose to ignore repeated warnings about Mogadishu’s covert campaign to destabilize the region. That neglect—born of political arrogance and diplomatic inertia—opened cracks in Puntland’s internal cohesion.
Now, as Djibouti steps into the vacuum, Puntland’s complacency has turned into a liability. When a state fails to defend its peripheries politically, others will gladly claim them diplomatically.
The Cost of Silence
Every time Puntland remains silent in the face of external interference, it loses another inch of its political sovereignty. Today, it’s Djibouti inviting traditional elders. Tomorrow, it could be another foreign state funding local factions or shaping Puntland’s future behind closed doors.
If Puntland is to survive as a state—not as a symbolic region under endless manipulation—it must assert its diplomatic independence, regulate foreign engagement, and draw red lines that no external power, however rich or connected, can cross.
Silence, in this case, is not diplomacy. It is complicity.
Support WDM — the home of fearless, independent journalism that speaks truth to power across Somalia and the region.
Tel/WhatsApp: +252 90 703 4081.
WDM 