MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – The director of a hospital in a disputed town in the Somaliland region says two months between armed rebels and Somaliland’s security forces after local elders expressed their intentions. It said at least 145 people were killed in the fighting. Reunification with Somalia.
Dr Abdimajid Suguru of Ras Anod Public Hospital told The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 1,080 people have been injured and more than 100,000 families have been evacuated from the city of Ras Anod since the end of December. Most of the civilians fled, he said.
He accused the Somaliland army of destroying hospital laboratories, blood banks and clinics with mortar fire. “Somaliland forces stationed outside the city have indiscriminately shelled civilians and medical facilities. Not a day goes by without shelling and casualties,” he told the Associated Press by phone.
Somaliland’s Ministry of Defense denies shelling the hospital and says the government is “uninterruptedly committed” to the ceasefire declared on February 10. The United Nations and international partners said last month: “Indiscriminate shelling of civilians is unacceptable and must be stopped.”
Somaliland separated from Somalia 30 years ago and is seeking international recognition as an independent state. Somaliland and Somalia’s Puntland province have been fighting over Ras Anod for years, but the eastern city is under Somaliland’s control.
The UN Somali delegation and the UN Office for Human Rights said at least 80 people were killed in the violence in Ras Anod from 28 December to 28 February, and more than 450 of his non-combatants, including medical workers, were killed. said a member was injured. The United Nations has demanded respect for health workers and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance.
The conflict in Ras Anod began when an unidentified gunman killed a popular young politician of the Somaliland opposition as he was trying to leave a mosque. Protests against Somali officials and the army in the city continued.
The Somaliland government has blamed the riots on fighters linked to “anti-peace groups and terrorism”, and extremist groups with ties to al-Qaeda, which he claims al-Shabab helped in some of the attacks.
