Hostilities may begin anew in #LasAnod
Yet another conflict erupted in February last year in Las Anod, in Eastern #Somaliland. This followed harsh repression by Somaliland security forces against demonstrators who protested a political assassination in December 2022.
The #Ethiopia-#Somaliland MoU has in part been a desperate gambit by Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi to regain legitimacy and hang on to power, and in part an attempt at rebuilding Somaliland’s army to retake #LasAnod. Hargeisa regularly boasted that they would retake the unionist region and the time when they will try again seems near. Troops have been deployed around Oog in Western #Sool, roughly at the boundary between #Ishaaq and #Dhulbahante territory
The MoU envisioned an Ethiopian naval base in non-#Ishaaq (#Gadabuursi) territory, near the Djiboutian border. Gadabuursi elders have reached out to Mogadiscio and #LasAnod. It is therefore possible a reignited conflict for Las Anod could spark a response from both East and West.
https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-awadal-elders-warn-ethiopia-over-controversial-deal
International aid usually comes through Mogadiscio, which redirects it to Somali regions, including #Somaliland, under a 2013 agreement. #SSCKhatumo on the other hand has until now been deprived of such funds and have not been invited at the recent NCC meeting convened by the federal president, with all other regions but #Puntland in attendance.
https://thesomalidigest.com/ssc-khatumo-leader-snubbed-at-ncc-meeting-in-mogadishu/
#Somaliland has announced however it intends to bypass Mogadiscio for donor aid. This, combined with a military assault on #Sool, could jeopardize any hope for Somali-Somaliland talks in the short to medium term.
https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somaliland/somaliland-goes-for-direct-donor-aid-to-bypass-somalia
Mathieu Gotteland
