Conflict podcast

The Las Anad conflict in Somalia's sole region is causing displacement and threatening peace in the Horn of Africa. The conflict involves the neighboring states of Somaliland and Putman disputing ownership of the sole region. In 2012, sole leaders rejected both states and fought for their own independence, but later agreed to join Somaliland, leading to tension. Recent fighting was sparked by the assassination of a sole politician, causing anti-government riots. Sole leaders declared independence as SSC Katamno, leading to intensified fighting with Somaliland. The conflict requires external help from the UN and Somalia, and a long-term solution and border confirmation are needed. Awareness and staying informed are ways to help. My name is Octavia Dunn and welcome back to Conflict Now podcast. Today we will be examining the Las Anad conflict in the sole region of Somalia. This conflict is threatening the peace in the Horn of Africa and causing over 185,000 to be displaced with 60,000 of them fleeing into the neighboring country of Ethiopia. A disclaimer I'd like to add is that there is a complex clan system in Somalia which plays a part in this conflict. This is something I do not have enough time to cover in this podcast so will not be. Alright, so the sole region in Somalia is situated between two states. On the left is Somaliland and on the right is Putman. Somaliland is a state which wants to be its own country but has yet to be recognized by the UN and Somalia. And Putman is an autonomous state within Somalia. For many years there has been a debate between the two neighboring states of who the sole region belonged to. Until 2012 when the leaders in sole rejected both states and fought to be their own independent state within Somalia called Katamno. Katamno ran into some issues however and later that year at a peace talk with Somaliland they agreed to be a part of Somaliland. Many leaders in sole rejected this however which has caused tension ever since. What has sparked the latest fighting though? Well, with the assassination of an up and coming sole politician anti-government riots began happening all over the region. This led to Somaliland security forces to crack down on the protest which ended up killing 20 people. Then on the 6th of February local sole leaders announced they no longer recognized Somaliland's authority referring to them as occupiers. Then forming their own independent state within Somalia called SSC Katamno. Since this the fighting has just intensified with Somaliland stepping up their efforts referring to this as a succession. There have been reports saying Somaliland forces have been shelling Lasanad which is the administrative capital of the sole region. And the leaders of SSC Katamno have appealed to the capital of Somalia Mogadishu for support. However, the leaders in Mogadishu are preoccupied with the different conflict concerning the last Shabbat. This conflict is essentially a territory that wants to be separate that includes another group that doesn't want to be a part of that because they want their own autonomy and stay part of their original country. The stakeholders in this conflict are Somaliland and SSC Katamno. And as the EU representative for the Horn of Africa Dr. Annette Weber said recently at a UN meeting this conflict is a symptom of an unaddressed grievances in certain communities and lack of political settlement of the status of Somaliland. A long-term solution has to be identified. And I agree. The border needs to be confirmed. This is not a conflict we are hearing about much in Canada so I had to turn to non-Canadian sources for my information. I also found a very useful video by Prof. James Kerr-Lindsay where he explained this conflict in great deal. Overall I believe this issue needs external help to be resolved from the UN and from Somalia. I also believe it is very important that a border of Somaliland be established and people in the UN and Somalia find some way of determining their status. What I'd say to anyone listening wondering how they can help the best thing you can do is follow the conflict, stay informed and spread awareness on it. Thank you and I'll see you in the next one.