PRESS STATEMENT Puntland Government of Somalia 01 February 2026

The Puntland Government strongly condemns the actions taken by the Federal Government of Somalia, which endangered the lives of the Puntland Government delegation and the security personnel responsible for protecting the President of Puntland, who were traveling to the city of Mogadishu to attend a consultative conference scheduled to take place there.

At a time when the Puntland Government and other stakeholders concerned about the future of Somalia had accepted to overcome political disagreements initiated by the Federal Government, the President of the Federal Government had previously issued assurances guaranteeing full facilitation of the consultative conference. These assurances included commitments that all stakeholders concerned with Somalia’s future would be able to participate freely in the dialogue.

This incident occurred while the technical committees representing the stakeholders and the Federal Government’s conference preparation committees were engaged in discussions aimed at resolving outstanding issues related to the organization of the conference.

The Puntland Government calls upon the Somali public and the international community not to accept or remain silent about the irresponsible actions of the Federal Government, which undermine cooperation, national unity, and the cohesion of the Somali people and their country.