While international attention has been on Somalia's battle against Al-Shabaab, a severe conflict has emerged in the Horn of Africa between Somaliland and several clans that want to remain part of Somalia or join neighbouring Puntland. This has led to fighting around Las Anod (Laascaanood), the administrative city of the eastern province of Sool, which is seeking to establish its own breakaway administration: Khatumo State of Somalia. This has left hundreds dead and forced over two hundred thousand to flee. All this makes it a complex conflict as both sides see the other as a separatist group. But what exactly lies behind it?

While we think of secessionist conflicts as being fought between different ethnic, national or religious groups, sometimes issues arise between groups that come from the same background. The conflict between Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland is a case in point. While ethnic Somalis share a language, culture and religion, it is highly fragmented along clan lines. In the context of the current conflict this has seen the Isaaq, the most prominent clan in Somaliland, come into tensions with the Majeerteen, the dominant clan in Puntland, and the Dhulbahante and the Warsangeli, which are centred on eastern Somaliland - an area known as Sool, Sanaag and Cayn (SSC). All three are aligned to the Harti, a sub-clan of the Darod (Darood) clan - one of the five key Somalia clans. This has raised fears that the fighting around Lasanod may evolve into a far larger clan war. At the same time, it raises crucial questions about efforts to reach a final agreement on the status of Somaliland.

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VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction and Titles
00:32 Identity and Secession: Somaliland and Somalis
01:33 The Somalis: Key Locations and the Clans
02:57 A Brief History of the Somali People
03:57 Somalia’s Collapse and the Emergence of Somaliland
05:53 The Emergence of Puntland State of Somalia
07:11 Somaliland, Puntland and Khatumo
08:50 The Fighting in Las Anod (Laascaanood)
10:10 A Somaliland-Puntland-Khatumo Conflict?

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
Somaliland Constitution
http://www.somalilandlaw.com/body_som...
Puntland Constitution
https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4bc589...
Overlapping Claims by Somaliland and Puntland: The Case of Sool and Sanaag
https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/si...
Averting War in Northern Somalia | Crisis Group
https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/ho...
Khatumo Declaration 5 February 2023
https://twitter.com/KHMediaOffice/sta...

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#Somaliland #Puntland #Somalia
#Khatumo #Lasanod #Lascanood