MOGADISCIO (SOMALIA), 26 Feb. (DPA/EP) –
At least 38 people have died this Saturday in an attempted confrontation in the city of Las Anod, epicenter of the long territorial dispute between the self-proclaimed republic of Somaliland and the Somali semi-autonomous region of Puntland, in the north of the Horn of Africa, since 2007.
Somaliland troops have allegedly attacked the town with heavy artillery, a leader of Puntland’s Sool, Sanaag and Cayn (SSC) militia told DPA in Las Anod on Saturday night.
So far, 38 deaths have been recorded, but the number of fatalities is expected to increase on both sides, as well as among the civilian population, he added.
This new confrontation takes place after last week the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported at least 150 dead and more than 600 injured in clashes in recent weeks in the disputed city.
Fighting broke out on 6 February in Las Anod, the administrative center of the Sool region between Somaliland forces and militant groups after local leaders represented in the so-called Sool, Sanaag and Cayn Regions Unity and Salvation Authority (SSC) declare their intention to rejoin federal Somalia.
Somaliland is a self-proclaimed republic in Somalia that in reality is still considered for all intents and purposes a semi-autonomous region, which does not enjoy formal recognition by any country in the world, nor by the United Nations.
However, it maintains good relations with several neighboring countries, especially Ethiopia, and is considered one of the most stable places, inwardly, in the Horn of Africa.
