UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday called on the Somali authorities to ensure an independent, effective, and impartial investigation after scores of people were killed in clashes between the security forces and clan members in Laas Canood that started on 5 February.
“At least 20 people have been killed, and an estimated 119 others injured in Laas Canood – among them children – in fighting between the security forces and members of a local clan,” said Türk. “I am concerned by reports that the clashes are continuing today with additional claims of new casualties.”
“These potentially unlawful killings come just a month after at least 20,000 people were displaced by clashes in Laas Canood, and could contribute to further displacement, compounding the already fragile humanitarian situation in the region.”
“I call on the authorities to conduct a credible and impartial investigation into the clashes to determine who is responsible and hold them to account in fair trials, including for reported damage to homes.”
Laas Canood is in the Sool and Sanaag regions, which are claimed by both “Somaliland” and Puntland.
Somaliland accused Puntland, whose leaders have clan ties with Las Anod, of sending fighters to join militias battling Somaliland’s forces. Puntland has denied the allegations.
Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud called for calm on Tuesday, urging Somaliland to negotiate with traditional elders from Las Anod. Somalia’s international partners echoed his call, issuing a statement expressing grave concern about the escalation and calling for the protection of civilians and the unimpeded access of humanitarian aid.
Somaliland, a former British protectorate, declared unilateral independence from Somalia in 1991 after a brutal civil war, drawing its border just over 100 km east of Las Anod.
Before that, however, Las Anod was part of Puntland, which is semi-autonomous but remains a part of Somalia. Las Anod and the inhabitants of its hinterlands belong to a collection of clans known as Harti-Darood that politically and economically dominate Puntland.
Las Anod, capital of the Sool region, was seized by Somaliland in 2007 after the withdrawal of forces from Puntland. But a string of high profile killings fuelled grievances against Somaliland’s presence.