WARSAME DIGITAL MEDIA (WDM) CRITIQUE

The latest flurry of allegations circulated by partisan outlets and amplified by Turkish internet bots reeks of desperation — not journalism. What we are witnessing is a deliberate campaign orchestrated by Villa Somalia’s propaganda machine, designed to deflect from its own humiliating political and military failures in Jubaland and the catastrophic collapse of its SSC-Khaatumo project.

1. The Anatomy of Manufactured Scandal

Middle East Eye’s so-called “exclusive” exposé on Puntland is built on sand — anonymous sources, unverifiable claims, and selective omissions.
Key accusations rely on pseudonymous witnesses whose identities and motives remain hidden. The excuse of “safety” may sound noble, but it conveniently shields fabricators from accountability. Journalism without verifiable sourcing is gossip with grammar.

No shipping manifests. No photographic evidence. No neutral corroboration. Just a string of conjectures recycled from Mogadishu’s rumor mill and dressed up as investigative reporting. Even the report itself admits its one-sidedness: no official comment from UAE or Puntland — not because they are guilty, but because the so-called journalists never intended to verify anything that contradicted their pre-written narrative.

2. Villa Somalia’s Fingerprints Are All Over It

This propaganda was not born in London or Dubai — it was conceived in the shadowy backrooms of Villa Somalia, the same regime that:

Failed to defeat Ahmed Madobe in Jubaland despite lavish funding and Turkish training;

Watched its SSC-Khaatumo puppet project implode in disarray;

Lost the political narrative in Puntland, where state institutions remain intact, independent, and defiant.

Unable to impose its will through diplomacy or force, Villa Somalia resorts to information warfare — planting fake “investigations,” mobilizing Turkish and Qatari social media troll networks, and manipulating Middle Eastern media houses desperate for regional clicks.

And here lies the hypocrisy: if they have any facts on these allegations, why can’t these internet trolls, partisans, and the Damul-Jadiid administration challenge the UAE directly on their so-called findings? Because they know the allegations are hollow — and they believe they can intimidate Puntland into folding under Villa Somalia’s whims. Puntland will not bend. Not to propaganda. Not to political blackmail.

3. The Real Target: Puntland’s Sovereignty

The campaign’s goal is transparent — to delegitimize Puntland’s government, tarnish its partnership with regional allies, and paint it as a “rogue state.” This aligns perfectly with Mogadishu’s broader Damul-Jadiid playbook: weaken the federal states, isolate their leadership, and centralize power around a corrupt and unpopular presidency.

But Puntland’s record speaks louder than propaganda:

It remains Somalia’s most stable and functional regional administration.

It has upheld electoral processes, fiscal discipline, and regional security.

It continues to be the last functional counterweight to Villa Somalia’s authoritarian drift.

The irony is bitter — a government that can’t control one street in Mogadishu lectures Puntland about “foreign meddling.”

4. A Note on Middle East Eye’s “Editorial Line”

MEE has every right to question Gulf policies — but when it echoes Mogadishu’s talking points without cross-checking facts, it becomes complicit in a disinformation war. Its reputation as a critic of Gulf interventionism may serve ideological agendas, but it does not excuse the abandonment of journalistic ethics.

Real journalism demands verification, not regurgitation.

5. The Puntland Response

Puntland owes no apology for cooperating with regional and international partners in pursuit of its own economic and security interests.
It does not need permission from a discredited federal administration that survives on donor stipends and foreign guards. The real scandal is not in Bosaso’s airport — it is in Mogadishu’s palace, where national sovereignty is traded for political survival.

In Conclusion

This latest smear is not investigative journalism — it’s psychological warfare by a nervous regime facing the ruins of its regional projects. Puntland stands unshaken. Let Villa Somalia’s trolls type; Puntland will continue to build, govern, and lead.

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WARSAME DIGITAL MEDIA (WDM) EDITORIAL

So it finally happened. A convoy of Puntland’s “distinguished” elders — the self-appointed custodians of honor and protocol — travelled to Djibouti thinking they were heading for a royal reception. Instead, they were met with buffet lines and bunk beds. The mighty “delegates” of Puntland State, men accustomed to red carpets and local bodyguards saluting their shadows, found themselves elbow-to-elbow in the Arta dining hall, balancing plastic plates and asking, “Where’s our room?”

Welcome to the Guelleh School of Humility, where arrogance meets reality.

The Great Queue of Shame

What was once sold as a “special invitation” from Djibouti’s master of ceremonies turned out to be an open-door jamboree — a recycled anniversary of the 2000 Arta Conference, now reduced to a noisy crowd of job-seekers, opportunists, and nostalgic relics.
The elders, who imagined themselves as “ambassadors of peace,” discovered they were just another set of names on a guest list longer than a Mogadishu power deal.

There they stood — queuing for food, queuing for rooms, queuing for recognition. Some say a few even asked, “Where is our protocol officer?” The answer was silence — or maybe laughter from Guelleh’s aides who knew exactly what they were doing.

When Dignity Travels Without Direction

The insult wasn’t just logistical — it was political. These elders left Puntland without consultation, without clarity, and without a mandate from the very people they claim to represent. They boarded the flight as “Puntland’s elders” but landed as Guelleh’s extras in a political theatre meant to decorate Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s desperate propaganda show.

Respect in politics is earned through principle, not invitations. You cannot expect protocol abroad when you ignore your people at home. Those who bypassed their constituencies have now learned the cruel arithmetic of self-importance — that prestige without legitimacy equals humiliation.

Arta: The Ghost of 2000

Twenty-five years later, Arta has returned — not as a peace conference, but as a comedy of errors. The same Guelleh who once used Arta to impose his will on Somalia now uses its anniversary to parade political relics who lost relevance in their own regions. Puntland’s elders became props in a ceremony meant to revive a dead legacy, while Djibouti’s regime showcased them as trophies of submission.

One can imagine Guelleh smirking from his throne, thinking: “Those who ignored Garowe’s authority now beg for food in Arta.”

Lesson Learned — or Not?

If there is one lesson from this fiasco, it’s this: respect is not outsourced. Those who disregard their own institutions and people in pursuit of foreign flattery end up discovering the meaning of respect in the most humiliating way possible — with a plastic plate in hand and no seat at the table.

Let this be a warning to every self-proclaimed elder or envoy: before accepting invitations from foreign regimes with hidden agendas, ask yourself who benefits — your people or your ego?

Because in Arta, ego was the first casualty.

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Tel/WhatsApp: +252 90 703 4081.