ICRC calls for fair Treatment of Detainees in Las Anod and those held in Hargeisa prisons..

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has carried out its first visit to over 300 detainees in Las Anod on Thursday, August 31. The detained combatants were captured in the latest round of fighting between the Somaliland army and SSC Khatumo forces that took place over the weekend…

The ICRC visits detainees on both sides of the conflict, having previously visited Hargeisa Central Prison, where detainees from SSC Khatumo are held. The purpose of these visits is purely humanitarian, with the aim of ensuring that all detainees are treated humanely and that their families know their whereabouts.

“It is crucial that each detainee, from either side, is treated in accordance with international humanitarian law. This means that every detained person must have access to food and water and must never be subject to any form of ill-treatment,” said Pascal Cuttat, the head of the ICRC delegation in Somalia.

To help improve the material conditions of detention, ICRC teams also delivered blankets and mattresses to the places of detention in Las Anod, Together with the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS), the ICRC also facilitated the transfer of four wounded prisoners to Qaran Hospital in Garowe, where they received specialized treatment.