North East State of Somalia

About North East State of Somalia

The North Eastern State (Somali: Maamul-goboleedka Waqooyi Bari ee Soomaaliya), previously known as Khatumo State until July 2025, is a federal member state in northern Somalia with its capital in Las Anod. It includes parts of the Sool, Sanaag and Togdheer regions (combined under the acronym "SSC"). The name Khaatumo means a positive or final decision.

It was bordered to the west by the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, which claims the territory also claimed by SSC-Khaatumo. To the east, it borders Puntland, a fellow federal member, which does not recognize the existence of SSC-Khaatumo as it considers all Dhulbahante-inhabited areas to be an integral part of its territory. To the south, it borders Ethiopia's Somali Region.

Several months into the Las Anod conflict that erupted in early 2023, SSC-Khatumo forces effectively took over those regions, securing most of their claimed area and establishing a new front line about 170km from Las Anod between the villages of Oog and Guumays in western Sool.

SSC-Khaatumo was acknowledged as an interim administration by the Federal Government of Somalia on 19 October 2023, following its re-establishment on 6 February 2023, as SSC-Khaatumo after a period of mass civil unrest in Las Anod. On 30 July 2025, delegates meeting in the city of Las Anod officially announced the reconstitution of Khatumo as the North Eastern State of Somalia, "Waqooyi Bari".

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.