MOGADISHU, Feb. 23 — The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday clashes between security forces and clan leaders in Las Anod in northern Somalia have left 150 people dead and over 600 others wounded since Feb. 6.
Jurg Eglin, head of the ICRC delegation for Somalia, called for quick and unimpeded humanitarian access to victims of violence which started on Feb. 6.
“People in Las Anod urgently need humanitarian assistance, and we are acting as quickly as possible to bring it to them,” Eglin said in a statement, noting that political disputes must never stand in the way of saving lives.
The charity said thousands of the victims of the clashes found themselves in difficult conditions after they fled their homes.
On Feb. 17, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said more than 60,000 Somalis, mainly women and children, have fled to Ethiopia’s Somali region in the past few weeks following the clashes.
Eglin said the ICRC together with the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) has been providing support to local hospitals to evacuate and treat the wounded.
However, more resources and supplies are needed on the ground to respond to the growing humanitarian needs, ICRC said.
Merick Alagbe who oversees ICRC’s operations in the area said the ICRC teams are working together in a strictly neutral way to ensure help gets to Las Anod.
Las Anod is in the Sool and Sanaag regions, which are claimed by both Somaliland and Puntland States.
The current fighting broke out on Feb. 6 after local clan elders issued a declaration stating that they are no longer part of Somaliland and will rejoin Somalia. The Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn regions are now governed by the government of Somalia. (Xinhua)
