Senior Somaliland police officer killed in fighting - mayor

Since the capture of Las’anod town in 2007, dozens have been killed in fighting between Somaliland and Puntland as part of a long-running clash over a disputed border Sool region.

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Senior Somaliland police officer killed in fighting - mayor

LAS ANOD, Somalia - A Somaliland official says a senior police officer has been killed and several others wounded during a gunfight with gunmen in the Hudun district of Somalia’s northern contested Sool region.

The district police commissioner Osman Mohamud Salah died in the confrontation that resulted from an ambush attack on the area police station. The assailants fled from the scene before the arrival of troops.

The commander's death was confirmed by the mayor of Hudun district, Mohamed Jama Hirsi. He said the attackers were part of a drug cartel that was at war with police in the region.

Somaliland had claimed it seceded from the rest of Somalia in 1991 but since then the breakaway region had not realized its bid for international recognition.

Despite oppression, the majority of the people of the Sool region do not categorically agree with the secession of Somaliland and have expressed their firm support for the unity of Somalia.

Since the capture of Las’anod town in 2007, dozens have been killed in fighting between Somaliland and Puntland as part of a long-running clash over a disputed border Sool region.

Targeted assassinations have been on the rise in Las Anod in recent years with the local elders accusing Somaliland of negligence and dragging its feet to respond to growing insecurity.

KEYDMEDIA English

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