The Somaliland authorities have announced the killing of more than 210 people in the last 24 days, as clashes between security forces and clans in a disputed Las Anod province of the region, continue to escalate.
An official of the government said in a statement on Friday that the region which broke away from Somalia, has been embroiledin several clashes since February 6, with many killed and displaced.
“210 civilians were killed and 680 others were wounded in the fighting, which broke out between Somaliland forces and the local community in Las Anod,” the mayor of the contested town, Abdirahim Ali Ismail, told a press conference on Friday.
“The fighting started on the 6th of February 2023 and has continued for 24 days. Over 200,000 families had fled from their homes following the clashes,” the Mayor said.
“715 homes have been destroyed and 16,000 businesses closed, the water was cut and the troops forcibly stormed the electricity company which provided light to the town.”
“All government institutions have been bombed, the main hospital was bombed including the blood bank department and the intensive care unit,” he added.
Somaliland, which has claimed independence from Somalia since 1991, has never been recognised internationally, has been dogged by political tensions and internal strife in recent months which has led to deadly violence between Somaliland’s forces and militias loyal to Somalia.
The disputed Las Anod is a key trade route and is claimed by both Somaliland and neighbouring Puntland, a semi-autonomous state of northeastern Somalia.
The violence erupted after elders in the Sool region, where Las Anod is located, issued a statement pledging support for Somalia’s federal government and urged Somaliland authorities to withdraw their soldiers from the area.
Somaliland, a region of 4.5 million people, is a former British protectorate which prints its own currency, issues its own passports and elects its own government but its quest for statehood has gone unrecognised, leaving it poor and isolated.