LASANOD (SMN) – The troops of the breakaway region of Somaliland were reported to have fired mortar shells towards LasAnod city from their base in Gooja-Adde area.
The artillery shelling has caused extensive damage to civilian buildings, and Somaliland forces stationed on the outskirts of the town have been accused of being responsible.
The attack on Las Anod, the epicenter of unionist struggle as people of Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn (SSC) regions want to regain in greater Somalia and establish a Federal State.
The details of the casualties still remain sketchy as of now.
Wednesday’s shelling coincided with a growing international and local calls for dialogue to end the bloody conflict that claimed the lives of more than 200 people and injured 800.
The northern city which was seized by Somaliland from Puntland in 2007, has become a war zone with the residents fled to nearby villages, some crossed into Ethiopia.
After clashing with protesters supporting reunification and killing 20 people, the Somaliland regional forces retreated to their barracks on the outskirts of the city in January this year.
Somaliland claimed independence from Somalia since 1991, but failed to gain international recolonization. The world considers it as a region part of the Horn of Africa country.
