| Battle of Las Anod | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Puntland–Somaliland dispute | |||||||||
  Las Anod Las Anod location in Somaliland | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 10–20 people dead | |||||||||
The 2007 Battle of Las Anod saw Somaliland National Army engage Puntland forces in Las Anod, capital of the Sool region. The ensuing battle resulted in Somaliland ousting the Puntland army from the city.
Las Anod had until then been controlled by Puntland, who took control of the regional capital in 2002.
Somaliland had however been aiding local clan militias opposed to Puntland presence in the city. The clan militias were loyal to Ahmed Abdi Habsade, a former Puntland minister who later on defected to Somaliland. [1] [2]
In October 2007, the conflict mushroomed into a regional conflict over control of the city of Las Anod, as Somaliland regular army forces mobilized from their base in the town of Adhicadeeye, west of the city, and entered the conflict. Puntland was slow to mobilize a counter-attack, as Puntland's weak economy and overstretched military obligations in Mogadishu prevented a rapid response. After assuming control of the city on 15 October, Somaliland moved Sool's regional administration into Las Anod. [3] Between 10 and 20 people were reported to be dead. [4]
Sool is a disputed administrative region (gobol). It borders Togdheer to the west, Sanaag to the north, Ethiopia to the south and Nugal, Bari to the east. Its capital city is Las Anod. The region is disputed by the self-declared Republic of Somaliland and SSC-Khatumo. The region is partially controlled by both polities.
Las Anod is the administrative capital of the Sool region, currently controlled by Khatumo State forces aligned with Somalia.
The Dhulbahante is a Somali clan family, part of the Harti clan which itself belongs to the largest Somali clan-family — the Darod. They are the traditional inhabitants of the physiographic Nugaal in its topographic sense, and its pre-independence administrative sense, which included Doollo. The clan's progenitor is buried at Badweyn.
Sarmaanyo is a town in the Sool region of Somalia/Somaliland. (Sometimes considered in the Sanaag region.) The town is predominantly inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Dhulbahante sub-clan of the Harti Darod especially well represented.
The Puntland–Somaliland war is a ongoing war over the provinces of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn of Togdheer regions between the self-declared Republic of Somaliland and the Puntland state of Somalia.
Bo'ame is an ancient town in the eastern Sool region. It is the capital of Bo'ame district which includes the small towns of Karin-gorfood, Fardhidin, Dan-Gudban, Caleeli, Buura-wadal and Garaca Dacare and Biriqodayaga.
Buuhoodle, also known as Bohotle, serves as a significant border town for the movement of goods between Khaatumo and the Somali Region of Ethiopia. The surrounding district is rich in livestock with growing agricultural activities.
Hudun is a historical town in the northern Sool, region of Somalia, and the seat of the Hudun District. Khatumo has effectively controlled there since around 2023.
SSC-Khaatumo, officially known as the SSC-Khaatumo Administration , is an autonomous administration in Northern Somalia, with its capital in Las Anod. It includes parts of the Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn regions It is bordered by Puntland to the east, the Somali Region of Ethiopia to the south, Somaliland to the west and the Gulf of Aden to the north.
General Nuh Ismail Tani is the chief of staff of the Somaliland Armed Forces.
Tukaraq is a small town in the eastern Sool region of Somalia. The town is located on the road between Las Anod and Garowe in Las Anod District. Khatumo State has had effective control there since 2023, but Puntland also has a territorial claim.
Dhummay is a town in the Sool region of Somaliland. It is 35 miles south of Las Anod, the regional capital of Sool.
Qoriley is a town in the Sool region of Somalia in north western Somalia.
The Battle of Tukaraq in 2018 saw the Somaliland National Army engage Puntland forces in Tukaraq, a town in the eastern Sool region, on the road between the regional capitals of Las Anod and Garowe. The ensuing heavy clashes resulted in Somaliland ousting the Puntland army from the town. The battle was significant as it was the first time both forces clashed directly.
The Somaliland National Army, is the land force and largest branch of the Somaliland Armed Forces is based in the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa. The Somaliland National Army is composed entirely of professionals and volunteers because the army is not mandatory for conscription. Some Somaliland battalions operate near the Puntland border due to a border dispute.
Cayn or Ayn is an administrative region that Puntland unilaterally declared to be established in the 2000s. However, there is Somaliland between Cayn and Puntland, and they do not directly border each other. Somaliland has legally designated this area as its territory as Buhoodle District. SSC-Khatumo, which declared its secession from Somaliland in 2023, claims the territories of Sanaag, Sool, and Cayn, as its name implies, and effectively controls Buuhoodle.
Ahmed Abdi Mohamud Sugulle "Habsade" is a Puntland and Somaliland politician. He was a decorated Colonel in the Somali Armed Forces and the second in command of the Somali Custodial Corps equivalent to that of the Italian Arma dei Carabinieri but the Custodial Corps fall under the Ministry of the Interior and are part of the Police Force. A politician and respected elder later in life (he was instrumental in the founding of Somaliland and became the Speaker of the Somaliland House of Representatives. In 1998, he was appointed Minister of the Interior of Puntland but was dismissed in 2007 after a conflict with Mohamud Muse Hersi, who became President of Puntland in 2006. In 2007, he brought Somaliland troops into Las Anod, leading to Somaliland's effective control of the Sool region. He served as various Somaliland Ministers of state from 2008. In 2014, Abdiweli Gaas became President of Puntland and he come back to Puntland.
'SSC or HMB-SSCUnity and Salvation Authority of the SSC regions of Somalia' or HBM-SSC was the name of the self-proclaimed autonomous government of the Dhulbahante clan living between Somaliland and Puntland, which was active from 2009 to around 2012. It claimed possession of the so-called SSC regions of Sool (S), Sanaag (S), and Cayn (C).
The Las Anod conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Somaliland National Army and the Khaatumo SSC forces of the Dhulbahante clan around Las Anod, the capital of the Sool region.
Garad Jama Garad Ismail Duale is the one-highest traditional leader in the Sool region of SSC-Khaatumo State of Somalia
