During the celebration of the Islamic holiday Eid Al-Adha in Garowe, President Abdirahman Farole of Puntland pledged his state’s full support to the formation of Somalia’s youngest candidate for federal statehood, Jubbaland.

For the last two years, analysts and journalists across the Somali political landscape have drawn close ties between Puntland and the current power brokers in Jubbaland. No official meeting between Puntland and Jubbaland officials has ever materialized, however.

Farole was joined during today’s Eid prayer by former Somali prime minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, who is currently touring the state of Puntland to promote cohesion among the various political and clan interests across northeastern Somalia.

The Puntland president also urged the people of the Jubba river regions to reconcile the differences among them in order to successfully launch the new southern Somali state. He reiterated that the people of Puntland stand behind their countrymen in Jubbaland.

This is the first time in post-transitional Somalia that two separate states or factions have shown solidarity and made a bid to reconcile the divisions that sprouted during the civil war.

DissidentNation.com