Separatist Somaliland troops continue shelling Las Anod City, killing hundreds

Hundreds have been killed and several more injured as the troops of Somaliland, a separatist breakaway region of Somalia whose sovereignty claim is not internationally recognized, continued shelling Las Anod, Sool region’s capital city, for the fourth day on February 9.

Nearly 300 have been killed since the troops launched the attack on February 5 to retake the city, which was the epicenter of the ongoing protests calling for reunification with Somalia, according to Hamda Jama, a senior nurse at the city’s maternity hospital. Most of the deaths occurred on Wednesday.

“Since yesterday, troops have started shelling the two hospitals in the city. Nearly half of both the general hospital and the maternity hospital of Las Anod are in ruins. Every hour, a shell is landing in the vicinity of the hospitals [which are around 50 feet across each other]. Only minutes ago, another shell landed in front of the maternity hospital,” Hamda told Peoples Dispatch in a WhatsApp call at around 5:30 p.m, local time, on the evening of Wednesday.

More than half of both the hospitals are in ruins, according to Hamda. “A pregnant woman in the sixth hour of her labor was killed, along with her unborn child, when a shell hit the maternity ward,” she said, adding that several doctors and nurses have also been injured. Surviving patients, several of them with severe injuries, have been evacuated to a safer place, but the medics are unable to reach them due to heavy shelling of the city.

Ambulances with medics trying to reach those who are getting injured are being specifically targeted, she said. Hamda added that Somaliland troops, who are positioned on the mountains around the city, are also targeting schools, residential areas, food stores and all key areas of the city to inflict maximum damage on Las Anod.