Saturday February 11, 2023
Las Anod (HOL) - Somaliland government accused SSC-Khatumo forces of attacking its army bases on the outskirts of Las Anod town on Saturday morning after Somaliland announced a unilateral ceasefire on Friday night.
Somaliland's Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that its forces defended themselves in their camps.
The traditional elders said that Somaliland forces had invaded the region and that the only way to restore peace was for Somaliland troops to leave.
"The Somaliland government is using the ceasefire as an excuse to launch new attacks", according to Abdirisakh Mohamed Hassan, the spokesperson for the 33-member committee that coordinates the Las Anod meeting.
The administration of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland said it had agreed to an unconditional ceasefire late on Friday, following five days of clashes in the east of the territory that health workers say have killed dozens of people.
Heavy fighting broke out between Somaliland forces and militiamen in and around the town of Las Anod, the administrative centre of the Sool region, on Monday after local leaders said they wanted to rejoin federal Somalia.
Residents of the town said homes and health centres had been shelled in the course of the fighting, killing at least 58 people and wounding scores of others.