Somaliland: Somali President Apologizes for Atrocities Against Somalilanders
At a judicial conference in Mogadishu on 13 February 2020, the President of the Federal Government of Somalia Mohamed Abdilahi Farmajo apologized for the first time in three decades for the atrocities committed in Somaliland in the 80s and early 90s. These apologies are unprecedented and come after Farmajo met with his Somaliland counterpart Muse Behi Abdi and can be seen as a first step towards recognition of the victims.
Below an article published by MENA FN
Somaliland Sun: For the first time in over three decades, the Somali federal authorities have publicly acknowledged the mass massacre perpetrated against citizens of Somaliland in the 80s and early 90s.
This unprecedented outcome took place during a judicial conference in Mogadishu, where president of the Somali federal government Mohamed Abdilahi Farmajo apologized for atrocities committed in Somaliland under the previous Government of Mohamed Siyad Barre, a project dubbed “Kill All But The Crows.”
“[the] Nation needed to acknowledge, correct a dark chapter and apologize to our brothers who were killed, maimed in the north”, Farmajo told a judicial conference
“Let us bring a dark chapter to an end as we apologize to those of Somaliland that lost lives, maimed, destroyed property and displacement” said Farmajo, adding that it was time for a new beginning.
This apology comes a day after President Farmajo met with his Somaliland counterpart Muse Behi Abdi in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
