Somaliland: Clashes between Somaliland forces and a separatist militia SSC of Khaatumo State in Buhodle, killed 40 people
At least 40 people have been killed on Thursday in clashes between Somaliland forces and a separatist tribal militia in Somaliland’s disputed border region of Buhoodle.
Five soldiers from the Somaliland army were among the victims of the Buhoodle incident, which lies near the Somaliland-Ethiopian border.
The violence there flared up after a tribal separatist militia held a meeting in the historical town of Taleeh, once the base of Sayid Abdullah Hassan, a religious fanatic and the late 19th century version of Osama bin Ladden, in which they declared the formation of a semi-autonomous state. President Ahmed Silanyo said his government would not tolerate the disintegration of Somaliland during an emergency meeting of both Houses of parliament. An army unit was dispatched to the nearby town of Buhoodle and the conference in Taleeh came to an end.
Reports from Buhoodle indicate the militia lost around 35 fighters and as many as 40 were wounded with half taken to neighboring Somalia’s central town of Galkayo for treatment. The reports add the injured people include a senior figure of the newly announced Khaatumo State but its leader Ali Khalif Galayr is no where to be found.