At least 8 people were killed and more were wounded on Friday by the shelling of Las Anod, the capital of Sool region. The shelling damaged several residential buildings, a vocational school and a mosque during the Friday-prayers.
The local traditional leaders said that Somaliland has intensified its bombing of the city. They also denied that they will enter into any talks with Somaliland government while their troops are attacking their land.
Mass graves have been dug for those who died in the ongoing war in the city, with the latest shelling coming a day after the President of Somaliland Muse Bihi said he was calling for a ceasefire.
Somaliland soldiers have been spreading videos on social media for the past few days in which they are bragging about the bombardment of the city and that they will burn Las Anod.
Clashes have forced more than 185,000 people to flee their homes in a contested border town in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, the UN’s emergency response agency said.
Somaliland, which has claimed independence from Somalia since 1991, but has never been recognized internationally.
Political unease, however, has surged in recent months, with deadly violence erupting last week between Somaliland forces and the tribes living in the Sool region who want the unity of Somalia.
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