Fierce Fighting Rages in Cayn Region
Biyokulule Online
Monday, February 21, 2011

The situation on Kalshaale, Meygaagle, and Hagoogane villages now remains tense, after hours of fierce skirmishes have been going on there between the SSC self-defense forces and the intruders, Hargeysa militia, who are subordinated to president Silanyo`s clan of Habar Jeclo.

The intruders has been fighting with weapons of all calibers: using machine guns, mortars, technicals (four-wheel-drive vehicles mounted with machine guns and anti-aircraft guns), and heavy artillery (including rocket launchers). The heavily outnumbered SSC forces had thus resorted to guerrilla-style tactics in an effort to repulse the repeated Silanyo militia offensives.

According to preliminary reports, the total figures regarding the number of SSC forces as well as Hargeysa intruders killed was not available. However, some confirmed reports from the field state that casualties on the intruder side are 39 killed and 80 wounded, while the SSC forces has suffered dozen casualties.

One of the commanders of the SSC forces, Colonel Farah Nadif Aden, told the local media on the frontline that the Hargeysa intruders had made three attacks on Kalshaale-Meygaagle-Hagoogane area in the last 24 hours, which were rebuffed. Hargeysa militia`s aim was to break through into the Cayn capital, Buuhoodle.

According to Farah Nadif Aden, the intruders have been suffering losses, and many bodies could be seen lying on Hagoogane village. The Colonel said, �I have seen with my own eyes of 26 dead Hargeysa militiamen�.

Colonel Farah Nadif Aden noted that morale of intruders had shown a dip, after high ranking officials from the intruder side were killed.

Roobdoon Forum has the feeling that as long as the intruders hold the Kalshaale-Meygaagle-Hagoogane triangle, Cayn capital, Buuhoodle, will be threatened.  

Roobdoon Forum observed that the armed attack by Silanyo`s forces (Hargeysa militia) is regarded by the Buuhoodle elders as a blatant violation of the Meygaagle peace agreement signed by the elders of Dhulbahante and Isaaq in December 2010.

The SSC elders have accused Silanyo of breaking the cease-fire negotiated in Meygaagle village last December. And the current Silanyo offenses indicate his reluctance to settle the conflict peacefully.

Nonetheless, if the failure of Silanyo`s intrusion map becomes certain, it is not unlikely that an all out attack on the resistance will be on the secessionists` agenda.

Roobdoon Forum
Monday, February 21, 2011

 
SSC`s self-defense officer

Somaliland leader mediates between warring clans
Dayniile Online
January 11, 2011

Somaliland leader, Ahmad Muhammad Silanyo, yesterday made a decision on the fighting in the locality of Kalshaale.

�The issue in Kalashale is between two Somaliland clans. We are very concerned about the killings that took place. After these incidences occurred, we took the most appropriate steps and deployed the military to separate these two militias and ensure security there. We also dispatched a committee to mediate in the conflict between the two clans. Following the recommendations given by the mediating committee, the administration made the following decisions.

That there will be no clashes in these disputed areas which will from now be a base for Somaliland armed forces. No one is allowed to undertake construction in these areas but each of the clans can graze their animals. Each of the clans should also return whatever possession they have of the other.

Regarding the killing and the injury sustained in the fighting between two clans, the administration will deal with it as per the recommendations made by the mediating committee.

BOTh sides are also asked to withdraw their forces from the towns of Kalashale, Maygaagle and Hogoogane. The presence of organized clan militias is barred and it is only the Somaliland military that can operate in these areas.

 (Description of Source: Dayniile Online in Somali -- Swedish based, news oriented website that appears sympathetic to Somali Islamist insurgents; URL: http://www.dayniile.com/ http://www.dayniile.com )

� Compiled and distributed by NTIS, US Dept. of Commerce. All rights reserved.

Puntland Accuses Somaliland of Fueling Clan Fighting To Annex District
Radio Horseed
Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Puntland Government has condemned the fighting between two clans in Kabshaale area on the outskirts of Buuhoodle District. Puntland Fishery Minister Eng Muhammad Farah Adan said there was a plot behind the fighting and accused the Somaliland Administration of fueling the conflict in order to annex the area as was the case with the Laas-Caanood town. Mr. Adan added that the Somaliland Government had deployed military personnel to take control of the area as it did three years ago in Laas-Caanood town, the capital of Sool Region. He further expressed concern over the motive behind the fighting and the involvement of Somaliland in the fighting. I think it is a political motive aimed at capturing Buuhoodle town and we are watching the situation very keenly, he said.

(Description of Source: Boosaaso Radio Horseed in Somali - independent)

� Compiled and distributed by NTIS, US Dept. of Commerce. All rights reserved.

Somaliland Clashes Displace Thousands
February 10, 2011

Hargeisa, Feb 10, 2011 (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks/All Africa Global Media) -- More than 3,000 people have been displaced from settlements in Somaliland`s eastern region of Toghdeer following a five-hour-long battle on 7 February between the Somaliland National Army and clans loyal to the Sool, Sanag and Cayn (SSC) milita group.

A long-standing dispute exists over the territories of Cayn, Sool and Sanag, with both the self-declared republic of Somailiand, in northwestern Somalia, and the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland in the northeast claiming them. SSC are fighting to remain part of the original state of Somalia.

Abdullahi Yusuf Koreey, an elder from the area, told IRIN that more than 500 families (3,000 people) were displaced from the village of Hagoogane. �Most are pastoralists.�

He said the area had been suffering from severe water shortages before the fighting. �Many of the families have gone to areas with little or no water points. If their lives were difficult before it is 10 times worse now,� said Koreey.

�We know about 100 families were displaced to Buhotle District from Kalshale, Maygagle and Hagoogane villages [north of Buhotle],� said Faisal Jama, an independent journalist in Las-anod, the main town in the SSC region.

A local journalist told IRIN the fighting was over water and land.

He said many of those displaced were in areas difficult to access. �They are nowhere where aid agencies can access them.�

Over 30 killed

Ahmed H Abdillahi Roraye, director-general of the resettlement and refugees department of Somaliland`s ministry of interior, told IRIN that another 120 families had been displaced to Burao, capital of the Toghdeer region.

�We are now sending an assessment team to evaluate the number of displaced in the area,� he said.

According to journalists in the area, the 7 February clashes killed at least 32 and injured nearly 60 people. Gen Nuh Tani, Somaliland`s army chief, told the media the same day that at least four of his soldiers were killed in the conflict.

�According to information we have received from the Somali Red Crescent in Galka`ayo [south-central Somalia], 21 people were taken to hospital, but two of them died on the way,� said an official from Somaliland`s Red Crescent who requested anonymity.

Another 31 people have been hospitalized in Burao, according to army sources.

Aid workers say continued clashes will increase the suffering of people already dealing with severe drought. �This will make things worse for people who were also suffering the worst drought they have ever experienced,� the Somali Red Crescent source said. �And we are worried that if the conflict continues it will be difficult to reach people in the area.�

� 2011 AllAfrica, All Rights Reserved

MPs blame Somaliland leader for recent conflict in disputed regions
BBC Monitoring Africa
February 14, 2011

Text of report by privately-owned Somali Shabeelle Media Network website on 14 February

Some members of the Federal Somali Parliament today held a meeting in Mogadishu in which they accused the Somaliland leader of being responsible for the latest fighting in the town of Kalshaale.

Members of the Federal Somali Parliament who met in Mogadishu said they were holding Somaliland leader liable for the losses sustained in recent fighting between Somaliland forces and the SSC [Sool, Sanaag and Ceyn] rebels in these regions. Ibrahim Muhammad Deq who is among the MPs that met in Mogadishu and hails from the [disputed] regions of Sool, Sanaag and Ceyn regions said recent fighting in the area caused huge losses in the country.

Ibrahim said Somaliland forces transgressed against the three regions and killed many civilians in these areas. The MP said many families in localities surrounding Kalshaale have been displaced from their homes as a result of the fighting in recent weeks and added that it was unfortunate the hostilities erupted at a time when civilians are facing difficulties with the drought. The MPs called for the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance to families displaced by the recent fighting.

Source: Shabeelle Media Network website, Mogadishu, in Somali 14 Feb 11

� 2011 The British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

SSC and Silanyo Scuffle
Biyokulule Online
February 11, 2011

 
SSC`s self-defense forces

In the last two decades, the history of northern Somalia is troubled by tensions within the sub-clans. In mapping a way through this region, Roobdoon Forum argues that sub-clan rivalries, combined with artificial borders inherited from the colonial European powers, forms part of the responsibility for today`s crisis in Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn regions (SSC) in Somalia.

It was the fall of 2007 when the Isaaq-dominated militia from Hargeysa launched an attack on the town of Laascaanood, thereby beginning their all-out aggression against Sool and Cayn regions. Since then, the Hargeysa militia occupied large territories including the capital of Sool, Laascaanood. They also forcefully occupied the towns and villages of Adhicadeeye, Yagoori, Widhwidh, Ballihadhac, Kalshaale, Hagoogane, and Meygaagle etc. In these areas, a belief grew that the current Hargeysa-orchestrated skirmish is an Isaaq plot, with its undertones of securing the so-called �Somaliland� borders.

To complete their expansionism scheme, Hargeysa Administration started to implement the policy of eradicating SSC resistance, ordering its militia to carry out very cruel and inhumane �suppression� in areas where resistance against Hargeysa-aggression was very fierce and enforcing the policy of �kill all, and loot all�. The result was that hundreds of Dhulbahante nomads were cruelly slaughtered and/or displaced. In the latest outbreak of fighting, Hargeysa militias who have seized the villages of Kalshaale and Maygaagle in Cayn region went on a rampage, pillaging, and looting.

Hargeysa ruler, Silanyo, has recently declared Kalshaale as a new military base for his forces and transferred the collective responsibility for everything that happened in Kalshaale incident on the shoulders of Buuhoodle people, although it was his clan, Habar Jeclo, who were the aggressors. 

Hargeysa`s wild attempt to use clan militia (Habar Jeclo) to obstruct the SSC unionist cause is just a wishful thinking and will eventually be condemned by history. So far, the SSC people, who suffered immensely from Isaaq militia`s aggression and expansionism, greatly value Somalia`s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The SSC people who have a long patriotic tradition will and certainly can accomplish their country`s unity cause.

For the people of SSC, stopping secession to maintain Somali unity and territorial integrity is a sacred right; and therefore they will not shirk from their obligations of safeguarding national unity. Thus, opposing secession has a profound legal basis both in the international law and in Somalia`s Constitution and/or Charter.

Also, the SSC people have no wish to gain any territory from its neighbors. In contrast, the Isaaqs seek to profit from its aggression by annexing Dhulbahante towns and grazing lands that have always been peaceful areas.

If peace is wanted, then this peace must be achieved by stopping the Hargeysa-aggression and through dialogue, and the dialogue must be held with the people of SSC.