Somaliland’s House Speaker has denounced preparations for a federal government report on the situation in Las Anod as a provocation and an attack on Somaliland’s sovereignty.
According to a press release issued by the House of Representatives of the breakaway republic, “every report from the Mogadishu Assembly was not based on the reality on the ground in Las Anod.”
Sheikh Adan Mohamed Noor, Somalia’s Lower House Speaker, convened a ten-member committee earlier this week to draft a report on the hazardous situation in Las Anod. However, some committee members have already quit.
Last Monday, Somaliland House of Representatives Speaker Abdirisaq Khalif Ahmed stated that Somaliland’s government inefficiency played a big role in the uprisings in Las Anod.
He highlighted that the Somaliland government is responsible for Las Anod’s security and that anti-government protests should be handled by the intelligence and police services.
Somalia’s committee stated that it intends to publish the report but did not provide a timetable.
After anti-government protestors and security forces clashed for three days last week in Las Anod, a town in Somaliland’s east claimed by breakaway Somaliland and Puntland, at least 20 people were killed.