The Afar Folks’s Birthday celebration (APP) has strongly condemned a latest decision by the Somali Regional Council to approve 14 current woredas (districts) and 4 current zones, alleging that the switch constitutes a breach of Afar’s territorial integrity and threatens the fragile peace between the 2 regions.
On Saturday 27 July, the Council well-liked the establishment of 14 current woredas, four zonal administrations, and 25 municipal leadership offices. Mohammed Adam, Head of the Somali Set up’s Verbal change Bureau, urged Addis Favorite that the adjustments are “strictly internal” and “do not involve any redrawing of administrative boundaries.”
In a enlighten released on Thursday, APP said the current administrative devices — in particular the so-known as “Western” or “Gelbeedk Zone” — violate the governmentboundaries of the Afar National Regional Inform. “These decisions are not only unconstitutional but also dangerous,” the party said, warning that the restructuring “infringes upon regional sovereignty” and dangers reigniting an extended-standing and lethal border war.
The party emphasised that the Somali regional authorities’s actions contradict latest peacebuilding efforts mediated by federal authorities, including a excessive-stage settlement signed by both regional presidents no longer up to a year previously. “It is not forgotten that such an unstudied and unconstitutional approach… led to the death, displacement, and suffering of a significant number of innocent pastoralists from both sides,” the APP said, referring to the 2019 war triggered by the same unilateral declarations.
The enlighten from APP comes in the context of a fragile peace route of that began in April 2024, when the Islamic Affairs Supreme Council brokered a ceasefire between the 2 regions. This used to be followed by the formation of a National Committee tasked with resolving the Somali-Afar war. On September 13, 2024, the committee launched a proper “cessation of hostilities” after evaluating the success of its first operational allotment.
That announcement got right here sometime of a assembly attended by senior federal officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh, Minister of Peace Binalf Andualem, and the presidents of both regions — Awel Arba of Afar and Mustefe Mohammed of Somali. The National Committee noted that its first allotment had accomplished key targets: halting war, stopping additional civilian deaths, restoring aloof in affected areas, and deploying federal police and navy forces to stable the jam.
“The full implementation of the objectives outlined by the National Committee has been largely successful, including the cessation of conflict, prevention of civilian casualties, and the deployment of federal security forces in peaceful areas,” said Minister Binalf sometime of the assembly. He added that the technique had helped native communities trip “a return to normalcy and hope for a more peaceful future.”
In this context, the APP said the Somali jam’s latest decision no longer handiest undermines the federal-led peace route of but additionally straight away violates the settlement made by both regional governments to address disputes by composed dialogue and cooperation. The war between the 2 regions — in particular in areas equivalent to Gabi Rasu Zone in Afar and Sitti Zone in Somali — has resulted in repeated clashes, displacement, and casualties, as beforehand reported by Addis Favorite and the Ethiopian Human Rights Rate (EHRC).
The party outlined four major objections to the Somali jam’s switch. First, it said the restructuring violates existing administrative boundaries, undermining the authority of the national consultation rate legally established to address such disputes. This rate, in accordance to APP, is nearing the cease of its mandate and must be allowed to total its work sooner than any adjustments are made.
Second, APP warned the decision might perchance well perchance also incite renewed violence. “At a time when our country is recovering from the northern war and striving to strengthen internal peace, this action is an invitation to another war,” the enlighten cautioned.
Third, the party said the switch disregards the fragile peace agreements mediated by the Ministry of Peace and threatens to solve months of progress. “This action erodes the relative peace negotiations… and escalates conflict,” it said.
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At final, APP argued the restructuring endangers Ethiopia’s broader national pursuits amid increasing regional and world tensions. “This decision gravely endangers our national interest by contributing negatively to the erosion of internal unity,” the party warned, including that it opens space for actors adversarial to the country’s balance.
Calling the decision “unacceptable,” APP urged the Somali regional authorities to reverse route and known as on the federal authorities and security institutions to behave like a flash. “We call on the Federal Government and security forces to urgently intervene before this issue spirals out of control and another bloody war erupts,” the enlighten read.
The Afar Folks’s Birthday celebration concluded by reiterating its readiness to make a contribution to constitutional and peace-focused dialogue, emphasizing its commitment to supporting lasting ideas to inter-regional disputes. AS.
