PRESS STATEMENT I AM COMING HOME (AWDAL) TO LISTEN, TO SERVE, AND TO HELP BUILD A PEACEFUL FUTURE FOR EVERY AWDAL FAMILY With humility, unwavering conviction and a deep sense of responsibility, I have accepted the invitation of our traditional elders to return to Awdal Region and Gebileh District for consultations. I will come home as soon as my schedule allows. I return as a son of these communities, conscious of their suffering and grateful for their trust. My purpose is to listen, help protect lives, strengthen understanding among our people, and work toward lasting peace and shared prosperity for every Awdal community, regardless of tribe or political affiliation. The reports reaching me from Awdal demand urgent attention. Commanders, local elders living alongside threatened rural families, and young members of the Awdal State Defense Forces in the mountains have described to me that renewed violence following the 2026 Eid break. Their accounts that Djiboutian military personnel, heavy weapons, equipment, ambulances and financial assistance have supported armed Issa militia elements operating from Ethiopia’s Somali Region against Awdal communities. They also report that innocent rural civilians have been killed and wounded during the past several months. I call upon President Ismail Omar Guelleh’s government to answer these grave atrocities  openly and to end any support enabling attacks against civilians. No territorial ambition, political calculation or claim of influence can justify the killing of an innocent person. Awdal’s people have the right to live on their land in safety, raise their children without fear, and determine their future without armed coercion. Any expansionist agenda pursued at their expense must be abandoned. Lasting peace requires respect for their dignity, rights and freely expressed will. I also call upon the secessionist administration in Hargeisa to end the their protection of aggressors and the arrest or harassment of members of the Awdal State Defense Forces who are protecting threatened communities. For months, our Grand Chief, Suldan Samatar Suldan Ibrahim Suldan Jama, has warned about Djiboutian interference, attacks against rural communities and the consequences of shielding aggressors. His warnings deserve an urgent and substantive response. Every further delay leaves families exposed to dangers that have already been brought to the authorities’ attention. My support for the Awdal State Defense Forces rests on a clear responsibility: the protection of all our communities against armed attack. Their conduct must remain defensive, disciplined, accountable and respectful of civilian life. No claim of self-defense excuses revenge, collective punishment, unlawful detention or abuse. That responsibility includes the protection of innocent Issa civilians. They are our neighbors and part of our shared social fabric. Their lives, homes, livelihoods and dignity are entitled to the same protection as those of every other community. No person should be threatened or held responsible because of their tribe. Accountability belongs to those who organize, finance, facilitate or commit violence, and it must be established through evidence and individual conduct. The future I seek for Awdal has room for every community, every family and every child. I reaffirm my support for all decrees issued by Grand Chief Suldan Samatar Suldan Ibrahim Suldan Jama to protect the lives and wellbeing of all Awdal communities, regardless of clan affiliation. I hold him in the utmost respect for his conviction, integrity and vision, and for the responsibility he carries during this difficult time. In matters of our traditional leadership, I recognize Grand Chief Suldan Samatar Suldan Ibrahim Suldan Jama authority and will seek his guidance with humility and respect, while remaining faithful to my public responsibilities and the law. My acceptance of our elders’ invitation is firm. I will not seek political or other type of permission from Djibouti, the Hargeisa regime, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s regime or any other political actor to return home and consult my people. Threats of arrest or intimidation will not change that decision. I remember my two-month consultation visit in 2011, when my community stood beside me and protected my ability to meet our people. I carry that solidarity with gratitude. As I prepare to visit Zeila, Lughaya, Baki, Borama and Gebileh, I ask everyone to uphold peace, dignity and restraint. My visit should be an opportunity for open consultation, and no authority should turn it into a confrontation. I return to the communities from which my beloved mother and father came, knowing that public service begins with listening. I want to hear from elders, mothers and fathers, young people, displaced families, pastoralists, farmers, traders and those whose voices too often go unheard. Their hopes must shape our work. Our people deserve more than survival. They deserve safe villages, functioning schools, accessible healthcare, reliable water, opportunities for young people, and livelihoods that allow families to prosper on their own land. These aspirations belong equally to every tribe and community. I will approach these consultations with the conviction to speak honestly and the humility to listen carefully. No individual holds every answer. Progress requires the wisdom of our elders, the experience of our families, the energy of our youth and the participation of all our communities. I am coming home with respect for our elders, faith in our people and an unwavering commitment to their dignity. May our consultations help protect lives, heal divisions and build a peaceful and prosperous future for all Awdal communities. NB: My colleague, American journalist Derek VanBuskirk of The Daily Caller, a Washington, D.C.–based news outlet covering U.S. politics and government, will accompany me on my visit to Awdal as I return home to listen to our people and consult our elders. The Daily Caller is Washington’s highest-circulation newspaper or the most widely read by lawmakers and senior government officials. Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib Member, Foreign Affairs Committee House of the People, Federal Republic of Somalia Representative of Awdal Region and Gebileh District #ComingHomeToAwdal #PeaceForAwdal #AwdalForAll #UnityDignityProsperity #ListenServeUnite #DrAbib

Conservatives who attend church weekly are the least likely to have ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Liberals who have low attendance are the most likely to have a diagnosis. A confounding variable is that liberals tend to seek out mental health services more than conservatives, however.