Friday January 6, 2023
A Somaliland military spokesman speaks from Hargeisa. CREDIT: Universal TV
Hargeisa (HOL) - The Somaliland military said it withdrew from Las Anod on Thursday after several days of violence to ease tensions and avoid further bloodshed.
A military spokesman said that Somaliland regretted the death of Mohamed Ali Sadale, a Las Anod resident who was shot by the army and said the death was not deliberate.
Following Sadale's killing, militias from his family attacked a Somaliland army base.
The military spokesman pleaded for calm, stating that the troops responsible for the murder had been apprehended and would face punishment.
"The shooting last night is a military matter, we have arrested the soldiers responsible, and we will bring them to justice."
He added that Somaliland soldiers withdrew from Las Anod on Thursday after the Sadale's killing so as not to cause more problems and would return once the situation had been stabilized.
Las Anod's mayor
welcomed the decision from Somaliland, saying that the security situation has improved since Somaliland soldiers evacuated the town.
Mayor Abdirahin Ali Ismail confirmed that there were confrontations between Somaliland security forces and protestors on Thursday but that no casualties were reported.
The town has served as the focal point of a protracted border dispute between the self-proclaimed republic of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous Somali territory of Puntland since 2007.
Almost two dozen demonstrators have been killed, and scores more have been injured since the turmoil started in late December.