MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) Somalia’s international partners have reiterated their call for a ceasefire in Las-Anod town as the fighting between Somaliland forces and locals entered its eleventh day.
According to residents and paramedics, more than 100 people including civilians were killed in the two-week longs fighting.
Both Somaliland authorities and Las-Anod vigilantes traded accusations of who started the fighting with locals in the town confirming casualties caused by dozens of motor shells reportedly fired by Somaliland forces on the outskirts of the town.
Some of the shells hit the town’s General Hospital where over 60 injured people were undergoing treatment.
“We urge all sides to adhere to the ceasefire, exercise restraint, and engage in constructive dialogue to establish a pathway towards a peaceful resolution,” a statement by the international community said.
The partners condemned the continued violence in Laascaanood, expressing serious concern about reports regarding the mobilisation of armed groups.
“We are also deeply concerned about the shelling of civilian infrastructure, which has resulted in casualties and widespread displacement. Attacks against civilians must stop immediately,” the foreign diplomats in Mogadishu jointly said.
They reiterated their call for unhindered humanitarian access to urgently address the needs of those displaced and impacted by the ongoing violence.
Meanwhile, distancing itself from the shelling, Somaliland accused Al Shabaab of shelling homes and businesses, a claim rejected by the locals.
“The traditional head of the Sool region who has called for peace talks, it is clear that he has been sidelined, and Al Shabaab has taken over the youth he commanded,” Somaliland Army’s Operation Leader and Spokesman of the Army, Abdirahman Abdilahi Hassan (Abdi Dheere. “We have the fact that Al-Shabaab destroyed houses in Las’anood, and they still say that they were destroyed by the national army, while they always want us to restore peace in Las’anood,” said Abdi Dheere.
So.aliland, a region in northern Somalia declared unilateral independence from Somalia in 1991 following the fall of Somalia’s central government led by the then-late Mohamed Siad Barre.
Despite the relative peace in the region, Somaliland failed to gain recognition from the international community.
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