23 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reported that there are already at least 150 dead and more than 600 injured in clashes in recent weeks in the city of Las Anod, fighting that began on February 6 and that pit troops from the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland against local forces.
As the conflict progresses, humanitarian aid organizations request access to the area in order to deliver aid to the victims of the violence. The head of the ICRC delegation for Somalia, Jurg Eglin, said in a statement that “the people of Las Anod urgently need humanitarian aid.”
“We are acting as quickly as possible to try to reach them,” he asserted before stating that political disputes “should never hinder the possibility of saving lives.”
The organization has warned that thousands of people are in a vulnerable situation after leaving their homes due to violence. According to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, some 60,000 Somalis, mainly women and children, have sought refuge in Ethiopia in recent weeks after fleeing recent fighting in the city.
Thus, they have insisted on the need to allocate “more resources” to “growing humanitarian needs.” Ongoing clashes erupted 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 Regions Unity and Salvation Authority, Sanaag and Cayn (SSC) declare their intention to rejoin federal Somalia.
