Battle
2018 battle
The Battle of Tukaraq in 2018 saw the Somaliland National Army engage Puntland forces in Tukaraq, a town in the eastern Sool region, on the road between the regional capitals of Las Anod and Garowe. The ensuing heavy clashes resulted in Somaliland ousting the Puntland army from the town. The battle was significant as it was the first time both forces clashed directly.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “Battle of Tukaraq”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Battle of Tukaraq in 2018 saw the Somaliland National Army engage Puntland forces in Tukaraq, a town in the eastern Sool region, on the road between the regional capitals of Las Anod and Garowe. The ensuing heavy clashes resulted in Somaliland ousting the Puntland army from the town. The battle was significant as it was the first time both forces clashed directly.
The town is situated 86km west of Garowe, the capital of Puntland, a federal member state in northern Somalia. Up until the battle the town was a customs point operated by Puntland. Somaliland had earlier captured Tukaraq from Khaatumo State forces in 2012, who subsequently fled to Ethiopia. Somaliland forces then later withdrew from the town, with Puntland assuming control. Puntland and Somaliland have previously clashed in the outskirts of Tukaraq in 2011.
Somalia's president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed visited the Puntland region earlier, hoping to improve strained relations between the federal member states of Puntland and Galmudug and the federal government. He was also asked by traditional elders from the Tukaraq area to visit the contested area and unconfirmed reports suggested that he intended to visit the contested Sool region.
Early in the morning on 8 January Somaliland forces launched an offensive to capture the town. Heavy clashes ensued between Somaliland and the defending Puntland forces, with its defensive positions being overran and the town captured.
A second and much deadlier round of clashes between both sides took place in mid-May in the holy month of Ramadan when Puntland launched a multi-front offensive in an attempt to recapture the town. After heavy shelling Somaliland repelled the offensive.
Several rounds of clashes of varying levels of intensity have occurred since Somaliland's capture of the town.
On 3 June 2019, just before Eid ul Fitr, Somaliland and Puntland exchanged POWs captured as a result of the conflict, with Somaliland releasing 140 soldiers and Puntland releasing 3.
Residents registered to vote in the upcoming Somaliland parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in May 2021. However, Somaliland lost its control over Tukaraq in 2023 over the pro-statehood mass demonstrations surrounding the Las Anod conflict.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Battle of Tukaraq”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.