Somalia: Somaliland military withdraws from Tukaraq near Las Anod

LAS ANOD, Somalia - Following intense fighting, the Somaliland military has reportedly withdrawn from Tukaraq, sources confirmed, amid a cessation of hostilities calls from members of the international community, who have projected catastrophe in the region.

For weeks, the Somaliland troops have been fighting against local clan fighters who want to be a Federal State, announcing a nasty divorce with Hargeisa. But the government of Muse Bihi has rejected the move, noting that the region remains a territory of Somaliland.

On Sunday morning and Saturday evening, sources say, the soldiers left a number of strategic bases in the Sool region, including Tukaraq village, where they were coordinating their offensive from. Already, the fighters commonly known as SSC have taken over the village.

Multiple sources noted that Somaliland's forces have evacuated many areas near the capital of the Sool region following intensive fighting this weekend. The fighting resumed three weeks ago and efforts to broker a ceasefire have stalled with SSC calling for the withdrawal of Somaliland troops from the region.

On 8th Jan 2018, Somaliland forces captured Tukaraq, a strategic town located in the eastern Sool region, on the road between Las Anod and Garowe after heavy clashes resulted in Somaliland ousting the Puntland army from the area. Puntland and Somaliland have been wrangling over territorial ownership of Sool and Sanaag.

By Saturday, close to 105 people had been killed in Las Anod, with the majority of the victims being innocent civilians, mostly women, and children. Over 600 others have been critically wounded and are undergoing treatment in various hospitals which are currently overstretched.

Somaliland's Speaker of Representatives House, Abdirisak Khalif, denied battling Puntland, Central Government soldiers, and terrorists. “ The Sool region has the right to defend itself, and I represent them," he said. Sool peace was also opposed by President Muse Bihi Abdi who accused Garowe and Mogadishu of engineering the skirmishes.

In his address last week, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud denied links to the stalemate but urged both parties to reach an amicable solution. Hassan Sheikh also called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, while maintaining that Somaliland remains part of Somalia.

Residents of the region have been pushing to change allegiance to Mogadishu after years of being administered from the breakaway region of Somaliland, but the military has maintained that it is keen to "thwart" the "secessionist" movement which is being hatched.

GAROWE ONLINE