The Las Anod conflict (Somali: Dagaalkii Laascaanood) was an armed conflict between Somaliland and Khaatumo SSC (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions) forces of the Dhulbahante clan around Las Anod, the capital of the Sool region.
Local tensions escalated in late 2022 following the assassination of civil leaders in Las Anod, culminating in fighting that erupted on 6 February 2023 after Somaliland security forces violently cracked down on civilian protests. Shortly after, the supreme Garad of the Dhulbahante clan, Jama Garad Ali, announced the intent of the SSC-Khaatumo administration to reunify with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS). Las Anod fell into a state of siege, with heavy fighting between SSC and Somaliland forces. Under President Muse Bihi, the Somaliland National Army initiated a prolonged military campaign, including six months of artillery bombardments aimed at subduing the city. Amnesty International reported indiscriminate shelling by Somaliland forces, which damaged schools, mosques, and hospitals, while also killing and injuring civilians.
The conflict has resulted in the deaths of several hundred civilians and displaced 153,000–203,000 as refugees. It is not known how many have been killed in total. Many residents fled to neighboring SSC-Khatumo territories or to Puntland. The conflict has weakened Somaliland's bid for international recognition, as the war and mass displacement have tarnished its image as a stable political entity.
In August 2023, the Somaliland National Army was compelled to retreat from the environs of Las Anod after being routed during the battle of Goojacade, following which SSC forces declared a cessation of hostilities. SSC-Khatumo was recognized two months later as an interim administration by the FGS. Somaliland has vowed to reclaim the region, and a military stalemate presently holds between SSC troops and the Somaliland National Army on a front line 100km from Las Anod. The conflict has also sparked fears of similar uprisings in other Somaliland regions with strong unionist leanings, such as Awdal in the west.
Background
Following the Somali Rebellion and the full outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991, Somaliland declared an independent state in 1991 within the borders of the former British Somaliland. While Somaliland was dominated by the Isaaq clan, the Dhulbahante clan populates the east of this territory – primarily in the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions. The Dhulbahante were opposed to the attempt to secede from Somalia and did not fully participate in Somaliland elections in protest. Ideologically, the Dhulbahante were near unanimous in their rejection of secession. In 2003, Las Anod came under the control of the unionist Puntland state.
During October 2007, the Somaliland army took over the city during the Battle of Las Anod against Puntland forces. After coming under control of Somaliland, the Dhulbahante residents of the city experienced insecurity. In particular, the Raad Peace Research Institute in Mogadishu reported that this control led to "extreme political, economic, and social marginalization and subjugation of the Dhulbahante clan," including the assassinations of more than 120 prominent community leaders and clan elites.
In the 2020s, tensions began to build between the local Dhulbahante population and the ruling Isaaq elite in Hargeisa. The establishment of a water plant was hindered by the Somaliland government and several hundred traders in Las Anod from southern Somalia were expelled. The traders were largely from the Rahanweyn clan, which the Somaliland government vilified as being associated with Al-Shabaab. The Dhulbahante population interpreted the expulsions as an effort to undermine Las Anod's economic growth considering the Rahanweyn were an important trading community.
Assassinations and civil demonstrations
The conflict was effectively ignited by the assassination of popular opposition politician Abdifatah Abdullahi Abdi who was shot after he left a mosque. After his murder, students took to the streets, protesting against the Somaliland government who they believed responsible for the killing. Somaliland police fired live ammunition and gunned down protesters, killing more than twenty people and sending shockwaves through the community. Cellphone footage of the killings rapidly proliferated abroad via Facebook and WhatsApp. Local clan militias began organizing to retaliate. In December 2022, civil demonstrations against the Somaliland government and unrest began to spread northwest across the Sool region, from Taleh to Kalabaydh, Hudun, Boocame and Tukaraq. Somaliland troops withdrew from the city to their Sool outposts and encircled the city.
Following mass protest that continued from December into January 2023, the withdrawal of the Somaliland troops paved the way for the return of the supreme Garad of Dhulbahante, Garad Jama Garad Ali – a community leader exiled from Las Anod since 2007. Rumor spread of a grand meeting of all Dhulbahante clan elders, followed by speculation that the elders would vote to exile Somaliland security forces from the city.
History
Before the war had started, most Dhulbahante commanders and their troops serving in the Somaliland security forces had already quit or deserted. Before the fighting had broken out around 4,000 trained troops and their equipment defected. In February 2023 local leaders in Las Anod declared that they would “never accept or participate in Somaliland's separatist programme” and announced their allegiance to Somalia.
Declaration of independence
6 February 2023 was a decisive moment in the conflict. A declaration of independence was uploaded on social media stating the regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn rejected the rule of Somaliland. Rejecting the rule of both the secessionist Somaliland and the unionist Puntland governments, the Dhulbahante clan elders declared their intent to form a state named "SSC-Khatumo" within the framework of the Federal Government of Somalia.
Outbreak of war
Somaliland armed forces had assumed they could capture the city in a single day. At 6 am Somaliland forces stationed north of Las Anod began shelling the city. Fighting broke out in Las Anod between Somaliland troops and Dhulbahante militias in the Sayadka Hill suburb, with shots heard in the streets surrounding Hamdi Hotel where Somaliland dignitaries were staying. The fighting on the first day of the war was centered on Hotel Hamadi in the east of the city, and by the days end the Somaliland representatives and their forces who had still been present were driven out.
On the first day of fighting 34 people were killed and 164 were injured during the Somaliland army bombardment of the city. Tens of thousands of residents fled the city and became internally displaced persons. The majority of businesses in Las Anod closed and most residents became unemployed. The towns economy collapsed as residents fled artillery shelling.
Battle for Las Anod
For nearly 20 days SSC and Somaliland forces clashed on the outskirts of Las Anod, engaging in house-to-house combat. As a result of artillery usage by both sides and the ferocity of the battle, around 150,000 people fled the city. Las Anod fell into a state of siege. A force of around 7,000 to 8,000 SSC fighters was raised to defend the city and its environs, many of whom were from the Dhulbahante clan.
Escalation of fighting
During the first weeks of armed clashes, Somaliland forces stationed at the nearby base of Gojacade cut the water supply to Las Anod. A water shortage ensued in the city that significantly impact both the civilian population and the fighters present.
On 8 February, the supreme Garad of Dhulbahante, Garad Jama Garad Ali, accused the Somaliland government of genocide, called for peace and declared Las Anod's intent to self-determination and be governed from Mogadishu under the Federal Government of Somalia. Many analysts and locals viewed Somaliland President Muse Bihi as the driver of violence. Hate speech against the Dhulbahante clan, largely inspired by Bihi, was widely spread on social media.
That month several heavy battles occurred when Somaliland forces attempted to overrun SSC forces defending Las Anod. Throughout February, the Somaliland army bombarded the city with rifle fire and artillery. After failing to take the city during a fierce battle on 25 February 2024, all Somaliland army units stationed in eastern Sool region were dispatched to the military base of Gojacade as reinforcements. The fighting killed 145 and injured 1080 according to public hospital director Abdimajid Sugulle. 90% of Lasanod residents were displaced, and the region produced 185,000 internally displaced people and 60,000 refugees within the first month of fighting. Two weeks later on March 7th, the UNHCR reported some 100,000 refugees from Las Anod in the Dollo Zone of Ethiopia.
Until the end of February 2024, the fighting was between the Somaliland army and the local Dhulbahante clan. Among the clans' fighters were professional soldiers who had defected from the Somaliland army and others had taken leave from the Puntland army or from the Somali National Army to join the fighting. The vast majority of defectors from the Somaliland army and other volunteers were natives of Las Anod and the surrounding countryside. A number of fellow Harti-Darod (including Warsangali, Dashiishe & Majeerteen) clans announced their support for the Las Anod Dhulbahante. The Dhulbahante are receiving money, equipment and fighters from their allies.
Bombardment of Las Anod (March – August 2023)
The Somaliland army deployed approximately 28 guuto (battalions) comprising 200 to 400 men around Las Anod during this period, supplemented by over a thousand armed police forces. In total Somaliland forces deployed 6,000 to 8,000 troops for the operation. On 2 March, the mayor of Las Anod reported that Somaliland forces were bombing public buildings from the surrounding countryside including government institutions and hospitals. The UN also reported a casualty count of over 200 deaths. On March 16, Somaliland troops were reported to be shelling civilians from the surrounding area. After Ethiopia requested the Somaliland army ease the bombardment, artillery shelling ceased for a time. Somaliland security forces arrested protestors who had demonstrated in other parts of the region in support of the SSC fighters. Due to fighting with Al-Shabaab and pressure from the Dhulbahante, both the regional Puntland government and the federal Somali government have effectively stayed out of the dispute. On 26 March 2023, Somaliland forces launched a major three-pronged offensive on Las Anod but failed to make any headway after fierce fighting. Their forces reportedly sustained heavy casualties. Another offensive was attempted on 31 March but also failed.
Seasonal rains which began during March and grew heavier in April dampened the fighting. During April 2023, the fighting began to stall and became highly sporadic. By May 2023, the five hospitals in the city recorded 373 killed and 2311 injured among the local population. On 7 June, the UN Security Council released a statement reaffirming its full respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and unity of Somalia. They also stated, "The members of the Security Council called for the immediate withdrawal of 'Somaliland' security forces and urged all parties to exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions, incitement to violence, and inflammatory rhetoric. This is in order to de-escalate the situation on the ground, rebuild trust, and create the conditions for peace." The following day, the Somaliland Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement expressing their view that the UNSC was "misinformed about the facts on the ground." On 11 July, Somaliland troops were reported to have shelled health facilities and public infrastructure in Las Anod, destroying 2 ambulances and causing dozens of casualties (including healthcare workers and patients). The World Health Organization published a press release condemning the attack on the facility and the shelling of hospitals. In response, the Somaliland Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the statement as "disturbing" and claimed that they were fighting clan militias and Al-Shabaab terrorists, to ensure "that those in need have access to these services and other humanitarian assistance".
By early August, the conflict had come to a stalemate. Around 20,000 fighters were involved. On 16 August, famous Somali traditional poet Abwan Jama Kadiye was reportedly killed by a mortar shelling in Las Anod. Both Somaliland and SCC-Khatumo blamed each other for his death. The loss of a respected poet and community member sparked outrage among the residents of Khatumo and Somalia. Some individuals within Khatumo even expressed a desire for justice and retribution in response to the incident. They indicated a potential intent to take revenge on Somaliland, given their suspicions.
Fall of Gojacade and Maraaga bases (August 2023)
On August 25, SCC-Khatumo forces launched an attack on Somaliland forces on the outskirts of Las Anod, capturing two bases held by the Somaliland Army in Maraaga and Goojacade. After the unexpected defeat, the Somaliland forces fled, regrouping to Dhodida in the northwest. SSC-Khatumo claimed this advance also resulted in the capture of Dhuxun, Xargega, Golayeedhay, Canjiid, Adhi'adeye, Samakaab, Yagoori, Wadhake, and Guumays and their respective military bases. Additionally, they claimed to have captured a substantial amount of military equipment, including several T-54/T-55 tanks, multiple ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft autocannons, eight Fiat CM6614 vehicles, at least one BM-21 multiple rocket launcher, and various undisclosed military assets. They also claimed a significant quantity of weaponry was neutralized during this operation, as well as the commander of Somaliland Army's 12th division.