At least 24 people were killed and 53 others wounded in a second day of heavy fighting in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, two medics said, after local leaders declared their intention to rejoin federal Somalia.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991 but has not won wide international recognition for its independence and has faced opposition from some clan elders in the eastern part of the territory who seek to be ruled from Mogadishu.
On Tuesday, Somaliland said fighters from neighboring Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia, were fighting alongside local militias in the town of Las Anod, accusations Puntland denied.
2 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN SEPARATE VIOLENT CONFRONTATIONS WITH ISRAELIS ON THE WEST BANK
Two doctors said the bodies of 58 people had been brought to their public hospital in Las Anod since fighting began on Monday morning, with many more wounded unable to reach the hospital due to heavy fighting in the town.
Local elders in Las Anod said electricity and water had been cut off, and health centers had been attacked with mortars.
At least 24 people were killed and 53 others wounded in the second day of fighting in Somaliland.
“Somaliland forces are carrying out intensive attacks on medical facilities and civilian homes. The deaths and injuries of civilians cannot be counted,” said Mukhtar Abdi, a resident of Las Anod, the administrative center of the Sool region.
It was not clear which side the fighting started on, but it came a day after a committee of local leaders, religious scholars and civil society groups said in a statement that they did not recognize the Somaliland administration.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Today, the (perpetrators) were supported by militias from Somalia’s neighboring Puntland region and the so-called Khatumo militia in a carefully coordinated manner,” the Somaliland state broadcaster said on Twitter.
Puntland’s Home Minister Abdi Farah Said Juhaa said his government, which has controlled the city in the past, was not involved in the fighting and Somaliland should withdraw its troops from Las Anod and other areas.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called for a ceasefire on Tuesday: “Let’s let the Somaliland administration and the Las Anod clan elders sit down and talk. The solution lies in our pursuit of a united Somalia.”
