Monday October 26, 2020
By STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Leaders call for cessation of hostilities and peaceful coexistence
RECONCILIATION: Mandera Governor Ali Roba, deputy governor Mohamed Arai and Lafey MP Abdi Mude in Lafey town on Saturday. Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Calm has returned to the Lafey-Elwak border in Mandera after two days of inter-clan skirmishes in which three people were killed.
On Saturday, Governor Ali Roba, MPs Abdi Mude [Lafey] and Kullow Sheikh [Mandera South], security officers and MCAs held a conciliatory meeting with representatives of the hostile communities following the Thursday-Friday violence.
The leaders urged the two communities resident in Lafey and Mandera South to stop the bloodshed.
Roba encouraged community leaders to engage in dialogue and find a permanent solution to their differences.
Mude condemned the skirmishes and urged residents to restore the harmony that they had enjoyed for many years.
“It is unfortunate that part of our resources and time are consumed by such unnecessary matters. Why resort to killing your neighbour? We appeal to our people to desist from acts of lawlessness and co-exist like brothers and sisters," he said.
He called for the exposure of “the dark forces that continuously plan and finance the destabilisation of our people. We will coordinate efforts with the security personnel to make sure they are brought to book."
"A peaceful and secure environment is critical in every society since it affects all aspects of economic and social development.
"It's therefore of paramount importance to advocate peaceful co-existence and observe the spirit of neighbourhood," Mude said.
He urged security agencies to speedily arrest the perpetrators of the violence, noting that it is primitive to kill or hurt a neighbour.
DARK FORCES: Lafey MP Abdi Mude addresses a reconciliation meeting on Saruday following the death of three people. Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO
In August, a committee was set up to end a boundary row and fighting between the two communities.
This followed cases of arson and destruction of houses over the boundary of Lafey and Mandera South.
The committee agreed to, among other issues, sort out electoral and administrative boundaries. The stakeholders resolved to fully implement the 2005-2008 Umul and related accords.
They also agreed that elders should meet and verify previous unresolved incidents and chart the way forward using Umul and related peace accords in line with Somali customary laws.
The Saturday meeting called on security officers and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to arrest and prosecute any person peddling hate messages.
Such persons must face the full force of the law, the leaders resolved and urged clan elders to take full responsibility of disbanding militia groups.