In Somaliland, the battle for control of the disputed town of Las Anod is now diplomatic. Since the beginning of the year, Somaliland forces have been clashing with local clan militias, who reject the self-declared state’s trusteeship over the border region of the Somali state of Puntland. If the last exchanges of fire on the ground date from May 18, a press release published Wednesday, June 7 in New York by the UN Security Council asked the armed forces of Somaliland to “withdraw”.
The communiqué from the Emirati presidency of the Security Council is clear. He ” reaffirms its full respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia In other words, the refusal of Somaliland’s independence. He calls on the belligerents to a ceasefire and to dialogue. And he also calls on Somaliland, which the Council incidentally writes in quotation marks, to “ to withdraw ” his “ security forces “, without specifying however if it evokes the city of Las Anod itself or its region, the Sool, claimed by the local forces with the support of neighboring Puntland.
What the government of Somaliland did not fail to note. In a reaction published on Thursday, he recalled that his forces had already withdrawn from Las Anod in February and now maintain “ a defensive position out of the city. He also recalled that in his eyes, they face not only local militiamen, but also Shebab jihadists, who according to him ” use clan allegiances ” as ” blanket “, according to him.
The governing committee of Las Anod hailed the “ significant step forward of the Security Council, of course. As well as Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, who moreover Wednesday received with honors, at Villa Somalia, the leaders of the insurgent city.