Since February 6, conflicts between security forces and clan elders in Las Anod, northern Somalia, have killed 150 people and injured over 600 more, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Jurg Eglin, director of the ICRC team in Somalia, has urged for immediate and unhindered humanitarian assistance to victims of the violence that began on February 6.
“People in Las Anod urgently require humanitarian help, and we are working as rapidly as possible to get it to them,” Eglin said in a statement, emphasizing that political differences must never get in the way of saving lives.
According to the charity, many of victims of the riots found themselves in tough circumstances after fleeing their houses.
According to the UNHCR, more than 60,000 Somalis, mostly women and children, have fled to Ethiopia’s Somali region in the last few weeks as a result of the hostilities.
According to Eglin, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) have been assisting local hospitals in evacuating and treating the injured.
But, more resources and supplies are needed on the ground to meet the expanding humanitarian demands, according to the ICRC.
Merick Alagbe, who coordinates the ICRC’s efforts in the area, stated that the ICRC personnel are cooperating in an absolutely neutral manner to guarantee that assistance reaches Las Anod.
Las Anod is located in the Sool and Sanaag regions of Somaliland and Puntland Republics.
The present conflict erupted on February 6 after local clan elders released a proclamation declaring that they are no longer part of Somaliland and will return to Somalia. The Somali government now governs the Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn regions.