Fighting in the area of Laascaanood (Las Anod), in the breakaway Somaliland republic, has escalated, with medical sources now saying at least 105 people have been killed in three weeks of clashes. According to the United Nations, more than 245,000 Somalis have been forced to flee their homes so far due to the ongoing violence in Somalia's Sool region.
The current fighting that began on 6 February was reportedly triggered after Dhulbahante clan elders issued a declaration stating that they are no longer part of Somaliland and that Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions are now governed by the Federal Government of Somalia. Both Somaliland and Puntland claim Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn (Buuhoodle).
Laascaanood is the capital of the Sool region. In 2007, Somaliland captured the Sool region from Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland region and the two sides have been involved in deadly disputes since then. So far, calls for a cease-fire are being ignored.
Dr. Abdimajid Husein Sugule told VOA that the five hospitals in the town were running out of medical supplies and bed space, as more injured and dead people were brought into the facilities each day. He said this week that 105 people had been killed and 602 injured in the three weeks of fighting.
The U.N. and other diplomatic missions in the country have called for an end to the fighting, and so has Somalia’s federal government. Despite these calls, shelling and gunfire have continued as both sides have dug trenches to defend their positions.
Somaliland President Muse Bihi announced last week that he would be dispatching clan elders to seek an end to the violence. However, clan elders in the battle-battered town demanded that Somaliland pull out its troops first as a precondition for dialogue.
Aid agencies have warned the fighting could worsen an already fragile humanitarian situation. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called this week on all those involved in the violence in Laascaanood to guarantee safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to people affected by armed clashes.
According to the ICRC, the continuous violence in the Sool region left more than 150 people dead and over 600 wounded, while thousands find themselves in difficult conditions after they fled their homes. "People in Las Anod (Laascaanood) urgently need humanitarian assistance, and we are acting as quickly as possible to bring it to them," said Jürg Eglin, head of the ICRC delegation in Somalia.
More than 60,000 Somalis, mainly women and children, have fled to Ethiopia in the past few weeks to escape violent clashes and insecurity in the area of Laascaanood. More than 185,000 people have been displaced inside Somalia from Laascaanood and its surrounding areas since fighting began early February. An estimated 89 per cent of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are women and children.
People in Somalia are facing already one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world. The crisis is driven by conflict, food insecurity, political instability, climatic shocks and economic decline. Even worse, the humanitarian crisis in Somalia continues to deteriorate. A devastating drought in the country has reached unprecedented levels this year. Five consecutive rainy seasons have failed, the longest and most severe drought in Somalia’s recent history.
An estimated 3 million Somalis are internally displaced, and about 700,000 people have fled to neighboring countries. In 2022, about 1.8 million people in Somalia have been forced to flee from their homes, including 1.2 million due to severe drought and 600,000 people due to conflict and violence. An estimated 8.25 million people, nearly half of the population, are this year in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection.
Some information for this report provided by VOA.