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46-463: On October 15, 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod , Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by a policeman in his security team. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on October 21, 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Army and police force seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially

92-528: A Somaliland military spokesman said, "Hostile forces with al-Shabaab background broke the ceasefire agreement and attacked Somaliland forces. The attack was repulsed and much of the city remains under the control of Somaliland forces." On February 26, Somaliland's Foreign Minister, Essa Kayd , announced the final withdrawal of troops from the front lines in Las Anod to designated military units in order to minimize civilian impact. He also said that al-Shabaab

138-489: A bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre , who at the time commanded the army. For refusing to support Barre's seizure of power, numerous political figures were imprisoned. Among these was Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed , Somalia's former military attaché to Moscow , who was imprisoned for several years by the new military regime. In 1978, together with a group of officials mainly from his own Majeerteen ( Darod ) clan, Ahmed participated in

184-711: A coalition consisting of the Warsangeli, Gadabuursi and Dhulbahante clans. In the previous six years, Ali's father Garad Farah, was in self-induced exile in Mogadishu: Ali Gerad Jama, the university – educated son of the Gerad ( chief ) Jama Farah ( who went into voluntary exile in Mogadiscio from 1952 to 1958 as a result of his conflict with the British administration ) provided the main drive behind

230-733: A culprit, suspect or defendant being named, including the extolled influencer Cabdirisaaq Cardoofe, assassinated in 2021. In December 2022, a Las Anod politician was assassinated leading to violent confrontations and the death of 20 protesters. The President of Somaliland announced that the cause of the incident must be identified. President Puntland accused Somaliland of carrying out attacks against civilians. The Somaliland government accused Puntland of spreading misinformation to incite violence in Las Anod. In early January 2023 Somaliland's Minister of Interior Mohamed Kahin Ahmed sat down with traditional elders and intellectuals from Las Anod to discuss

276-615: A deal with the Ethiopian government to purge the leftists. In 1984 the Mengistu government jailed many leading SSDF members, such as then colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed . In 1984, Mohamed Abshir Waldo was installed as provisional SSDF Chairman. From 1983 onwards many leaders, belonging to the Darood clan, were bought over by Barre. Many SSDF fighters defected to the regime. By 1985 SSDF had ceased most of their military operations against

322-530: A decisive victory, successfully driving Somaliland forces out of Las Anod. As the Khatumo State is supported by the Somali government, Las Anod has effectively come under the control of Somalia. On 31 July 1903, a battle occurred between 30 British scouts and 128 Dervish scouts, a few miles west of Heli Madu near Las Anod: "half way between Las Anod and Heli Madu ... they were the advanced scouts of

368-570: A failed attempt to overthrow Barre's dictatorial administration. Most of the people who had helped plot the coup were summarily executed, but Ahmed and several colonels managed to escape abroad. Later that year, in neighboring Ethiopia , Ahmed formed a guerrilla movement called the Somali Salvation Front , which was subsequently renamed the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) in 1979. The SSDF

414-534: A media interview, "We have the right and the ability to retake Las Anod, but we are abiding by the government ceasefire agreement." On March 9, the Somaliland government said that among the fighters fighting Somaliland forces in Las Anod were troops from Ethiopia's Somali regional government. The Ethiopian government denies it. On August 25, 2023, Khatumo State forces achieved a decisive victory, successfully driving Somaliland forces out of Las Anod. Las Anod

460-512: A party of 128 of the Mullah's scouts, mostly spearmen ... the enemy emerged from thick bush. They fought for two hours, the enemy losing many men killed and wounded, the exact number not being known; the enemy dragged their wounded and dead away. The motive for this Dervish development was said by Roman Loimeier as caused by how the Dhulbahante had not signed colonial protective treaties (since

506-683: A recent research report, the Berbera and Bosaso ports are the main sources of commodities that arrive in Las Anod: Lasanod has seen an increase in trade relations with the ‘east’ (Puntland) and the ‘north- west’ (Somaliland) since the early 1990s.39 Interviewees estimated that some 80 per cent of commodities in the city originate from either Berbera or Bossaso ports. Imported food commodities such as rice, sugar, or wheat flour and bagaash (bundles of packaged consumer goods), building materials, electronics, clothes and vegetables and fruits are

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552-534: A ‘mono-clan state’ today: all important offices in the country are held by members of the most populous Isaaq clan-family. Additionally, residents are represented by 13 local councillors elected in the Somaliland municipal elections . In the 2021 parliamentary and municipal elections about 100,000 residents registered to vote across the Sool region with a thin majority registering in the capital Las Anod. This

598-430: Is almost surrounded by hills and has considerable water resources, the latter of which makes it a prime destination for peoples from other parts of generally arid regions within Somaliland as well as from neighboring countries such as Somalia , Djibouti and Ethiopia . Evictions carried out in 2021 were reportedly due to business rivalries between locals and residents from South West State of Somalia . According to

644-478: Is the centre of political power of the Dhulbahante clan. As of 2021, Las Anod constituents are represented by 12 members parliament representing Sool elected in the Somaliland parliamentary elections . With nominal participation in the Somaliland elections, a mere 5 representatives hail from the Dhulbahante which almost exclusively inhabit the Sool region. From the 2005 parliamentary elections onwards,

690-563: The Dhulbahante and Warsangali sub-clans of the Darod clan. They have been subject to a long-running territorial contest between Somaliland and Puntland (a Somali member state). Abdirisak Khalif who hails from Las Anod was also selected as the speaker of Somaliland's house of representatives in the same year. Las Anod is strategically positioned in the Nugaal Valley and along the trade routes in Somaliland and Puntland . The city

736-519: The International Crisis Group 's East and Southern Africa Project, said Somaliland has provided no concrete evidence of Al-Shabaab 's involvement and that deeper issues behind the conflict must be addressed quickly. On February 23, United Nations Human Rights Council reported that more than 185,000 people, 89% of them women and children, have been displaced by the fighting in Las Anod that began on February 6. On February 25,

782-568: The Isaaq clans in Aynaba District have benefited disproportionally from the absence of this community. Hoehne explains: Members of the Darod clan-family in eastern Somaliland, in the regions Sool and Sanaag , early on took a stand against secession. Most of them did not participate in the constitutional referendum and in the subsequent elections. As a result, Somaliland has largely become

828-647: The Siad Barre regime. In 1986 an SSDF congress was held, which elected Dr. Hassan Ali Mire as chairman. He resigned in 1988, leaving a power vacuum in the organization. Musse Islan was elected leader by the SSDF Central Committee to hold the position until a Congress was convened. In 1988 the governments of Somalia and Ethiopia made some agreements to cease hostilities. The Ethiopian government started closing SSDF camps, arresting its leaders and seizing weapons. The Ethiopian government also closed

874-416: The 1950s, Ioan Lewis described the lineage cleavage running through the city as follows: Mudug Mudug ( Somali : Mudug ) is an administrative region ( gobol ) in north-central Somalia . The population of Mudug is 131,455 as of 2005. Physiographically, Mudug is bordered to the west by Ethiopia , to the north and south by the Somali regions of Nugal and Galguduud respectively, and to

920-776: The Italians considered part of the Dhulbahante as subjects of the Italian-protected Sultan of the Majeerteen ), combined with the fear, agitation and anxiety from contemporaneous yearly expedition-raids by marauding Menelik II armies and their pillaging. During the British protectorate era, Las Anod was the capital of the Nogal District, the precursor province of Sool, described by John Hunt as an "entirely Dolbahanta" province. The United Somali Party

966-622: The Liberation of Somalia . An 11-member Central Committee was constituted, of which the SSF leaders held 7 seats. Some former CC members of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party were part of the leadership of the new group. A military structure was built up, supported by Ethiopia and Libya . In the summer of 1982 SSDF forces took part in a 1982 Ethiopian-Somali Border War against Siad Barre . The campaign

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1012-502: The SSDF radio station, Radio Halgan, which had been broadcasting since 1981. In 1988 SSDF guerrillas started taking control over the western districts of Mudug and the southern areas of Nugaal and Bari regions. After the fall of the Barre regime, the SSDF (based largely in northeastern Somalia) was divided in two factions. One was led by General Mohamed Abshir Muse (chairman), who at

1058-527: The U.S. Department of State, resulted in severe reprisals against the Majeerteen clan; the SSDF itself would be implicated in killings of members of Siad's own Marehan clan, in Cel-Habred in the Galgadud region in the early 1980s. A conflict soon emerged between the former SSF and the more leftist members. The SSF clique wanted to maintain the domination of SSDF of Majeerteen and Darood clans. They made

1104-480: The announcement. On February 8, Las Anod mayor Abdirahim Ali Ismail stated that "this is not a war between Somaliland and Puntland, nor between Somaliland and terrorists, but between the Somaliland army and the people of Las Anod." On February 14, the Djiboutian government denied rumors of Djibouti's involvement in the fighting in Las Anod following unconfirmed reports on social media against Djibouti regarding

1150-425: The business community, intellectuals and other civil society members, the autonomous Puntland State of Somalia was subsequently officially established so as to deliver services, offer security, facilitate trade, and interact with both domestic and international partners. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was appointed as the nascent polity's first President. After serving two terms as President of Puntland, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

1196-471: The city in all aspects since. Until now Somaliland governs Las Anod with little legitimacy or popularity, while regular unknown assassinations have deteriorated the security situation. Ahmed Musa reports, the residents of Las Anod have not fully accepted Somaliland's presence in their city: Somaliland still governs Lasanod with little legitimacy or popularity. This is one reason why Somaliland has to be flexible with respect to tax collection. It cannot impose

1242-508: The current situation in the city, where protests against the frequent assassinations in Las Anod are taking place. On January 31, the Somaliland government warned the country's media outlets against spreading news, reports, and polls that could worsen the situation in Las Anod that "everyone working in Somaliland is obligated to follow the laws of the country, first and foremost the Somaliland Constitution." On February 6,

1288-569: The devastation is evident, and there are major obstacles such as the roads to Burco and Bosaso, the source of supplies in peacetime. On March 2, the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia said, "In 1988, the Somali government launched a war against the civilian population. It is unfortunate that the same scenario is being repeated now," he said. On March 8, Somaliland military commander Nuh Ismail Tani announced in

1334-550: The east by the Indian Ocean . The provincial capital is Galkayo . The southern half of Mudug and the region of Galgaduud have formed the Galmudug State , which considers itself an autonomous state within the larger Federal Republic of Somalia, as defined by the provisional constitution of Somalia . Mudug Region consists of five districts: Note: - part of Galmudug This Somalia location article

1380-459: The first asylum seekers arrived in Ethiopia. On February 6, a committee composed of town leaders and traditional elders appointed to deliberate on the political future of the region attempted to publicly announce its intention to reject Somaliland and form a Federal Republic of Somalia under the name SSC-Khaatumo. However, Somaliland troops camped outside Las Anodos shelled the town and disrupted

1426-579: The full tax code on the Dhulbahante territories because that would only reinforce local people’s existing grievances vis-à-vis Somaliland. Therefore, Somaliland’s reduced taxes (cashuur dhaaf) in the Lasanod areas are one way of garnering, or at least retaining, some level of public acceptance. Sparked by anti-government protests, war broke out again in February 2023 between Somaliland and Khatumo State forces. On August 25, 2023, Khatumo State forces achieved

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1472-617: The kinship ties between the Dhulbahante clan and the dominant clan in Puntland, the Majeerteen , whilst the latter's claim is grounded on the border of the former British Somaliland Protectorate. The city was the proclaimed capital of Khatumo State throughout its existence until its dissolvement in 2017. Somaliland forces captured the city in the Battle of Las Anod in 2007, ousting Puntland forces, and has maintained full control of

1518-724: The main commodities traded in Lasanod. According to the UNFPA 2014 population estimate the Las Anod District has an estimated population of 156,438 inhabitants. The city is primarily inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, in particular by the Dhulbahante sub-clan of the Harti Darod . The gaashaanbuur subclan of Shiikhyaale especially well represented. The Fiqishini ( Hawiye ) which at times form part of Baho Nugaaled are also present in Las Anod. In

1564-709: The other: On the 27th of October the District Commissioner Las Anod, completed the hearing of an enquiry into previous unrest in the region... One of those killed was a man of the Habar Yuunis Sa'ad Yuunis who were fighting with the Habar Ja'lo against the Ḍulbahante, and the other a man of the MaḤammad Abokor. From 1959 until 1961, Las Anod was the seat of Garad Ali 's USP party. With Las Anod as its seat, Garad Ali's USP party formed

1610-465: The party. On October 15, 1969, whilst paying a visit to the city, Somali President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on October 21, 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Military seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch

1656-511: The pre-eminent leader in northeastern Somalia. In 1992, he marshalled forces to successfully expel an Islamist extremist group linked to Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya that had taken over Bosaso , a prominent port city and the commercial capital of the northeastern part of the country. In 1998, a homegrown constitutional conference was held in Garowe over a period of three months. Attended by SSDF representatives, traditional elders ( Issims ), members of

1702-503: The situation in Las Anod. On February 16, the BBC announced that the Las Anod rebel group had formed a cultural council; the BBC listed the key figures as Garad Jama Garad Ali , Garaad Cabdullaahi Garaad Saleebaan Garaad Maxamed, Garad Jama Garad Ismail Duale , Garaad Cabdirisaaq Garaad Soofe Durraan. Somaliland finance company Dahabshiil announces it will provide $ 200,000 to help displaced people in Las Anod. Nicholas Delaunay, director of

1748-518: The time was based in Saudi Arabia , and the other was led by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (deputy chairman). The general secretary was Mohamed Abshir Waldo . A congress was held in August 1994. Former Prime Minister of Somalia, Abdirizak Haji Hussein , was offered the chairmanship of the SSDF by a group of clan leaders, but declined. Over the next several years, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed would emerge as

1794-609: The unitary and Somali nationalist platform of the Somali Youth League (SYL). For example, in the 1960s, five SYL officials were killed within the city. Towards the end of the decade 16 people were once against killed when the SYL party supporters staged in the city. Throughout the 21st century, Las Anod has been described as the only city in the Horn of Africa wherein the population's dignitaries are regularly assassinated without

1840-499: Was a dismal voter turnout as the acceptance of Somaliland’s presence in the eastern regions remains uneven. The Crisis Group reports: The representation of some clans also suffered as a result of dismal turnout in the east, where popular acceptance of rule by Somaliland authorities remains extremely uneven. The eastern parts of the Sool and Sanaag regions, as well as the district of Buuhoodle in Togdheer , are primarily inhabited by

1886-505: Was behind the disturbances and that they chose Las Anod as a place of refuge because they were driven out of central Somalia. On February 28, a major hospital was hit by four mortar rounds, killing at least one person and wounding several others. Somaliland's Ministry of Defense denied that the military shelled the hospital and said such reports were "fake news" intended to damage the military's reputation. Since March 1, no major fighting has occurred and life has resumed peacefully. However,

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1932-531: Was called off when the United States initiated emergency military aid to Somalia . However some territory, including two district towns, had come under Ethiopian and SSDF control. The Mengistu regime declared that the territory was part of Ethiopia, something which created problems in the relations between the Ethiopian government and SSDF. In any case, the action was swiftly repulsed, and according to

1978-605: Was elected in 2004 as President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), an interim federal administrative body that he had helped establish earlier in the year. Las Anod Las Anod ( Somali : Laascaanood ; Arabic : لاسعانود ) is the administrative capital of the Sool region, currently controlled by Khatumo State forces aligned with Somalia . The city is disputed by Puntland and Somaliland . The former bases its claim due to

2024-423: Was founded in Las Anod with the intention of forming a non- Isaaq axis, due to tensions deriving from the instability in 1954 and 1955. The instability of 1954 was primarily due to camel-rustling between Dhulbahante and Habar Jeclo , whilst that of 1955 was due to roaming resulting from droughts that culminated into a war with Dhulbahante on one side battling the two Isaaq clans of Habr Yunis and Habar Jeclo on

2070-462: Was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre , who at the time commanded the army. Initially, there was cordiality between the SYL party ( Somali Youth League ) and the northern Harti-dominated USP party; for instance the parties held joint conferences across Somalia and together expressed support for Somalia's new constitution in 1960. However, post independence, Las Anod has had a history of suspicion of centralized politics, including against

2116-573: Was the first of several opposition groups dedicated to ousting Barre's regime by force. The SSDF was originally a multi-clan organisation. The first SSDF chairman was Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, from the Majeerteen clan. The SSDF formally incorporated in Aden , South Yemen in October 1981 through the merger of three groups, Somali Salvation Front, Somali Workers Party and the Democratic Front for

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