TITLE: The Declaration of Clan Elders from Sool, Sanaag and Ayn Regions (north Somalia)
To Whom It May Concern:
Being the Dhulbahante clan's traditional elders who called and participated at the Third Bo'ame Conference, we have declared the following:
1. We inform the international community and the Somali people that we are not part of nor do we recognize the administration that calls itself "Somaliland" and that there are no agreements between us (Dhulbahante clan) and "Somaliland", in the past or the present. We believe that the unity of Somalia is sacrosanct.
2. We warn that administration ["Somaliland"] against aggression, the presence [of its troops] and the capture of our territory.
3. We only recognize clan borders that have always existed and the regional jurisdictions of the last Somali Government [1969-1991].
4. We warn about war and more bloodshed among neighbors that will lead to long-lasting conflict.
5. There were links among these people ["Somaliland" and Dhulbahante clan] in terms of culture, shared territory and blood, which should have been respected but such ties were broken by the invasion of the Hargeisa [capital of "Somaliland"] administration.
6. We appeal to the clan elders of northwestern regions [present-day "Somaliland"] to withdraw their men who invaded our land.
7. We warn the Hargeisa administration that the tolerance of the people of Sool, Sanaag and Ayn regions is reaching an end and that they will not accept the presence of their ["Somaliland"] troops and that anything that happens henceforth is the full responsibility of Hargeisa.
Signed [November 22, 2007, in Bo'ame, Sool region, Somalia]
The following Declaration, originally written in the Somali language, was sent to Radio Garowe by clan elders in the town of Bo'ame, Sool region, where the conference was concluded. GaroweOnline.com, the sister publication of Somalia's Radio Garowe, translated the Declaration in its entirety. Slight modifications have been made in the translated version of the Declaration to deliver the closest meaning to a foreign audience.