Las Anod

On the 31st July 1903, a battle occurred between 30 British scouts and 128 Dervish scouts, a few miles west of Heli Madu near Las Anod:[12]

"half way between Las Anod and Heli Madu ... they were the advanced scouts of a party of 128 of the Mullah's scouts, mostly spearmen ... the enemy emerged from thick bush. They fought for two hours, the enemy losing many men killed and wounded, the exact number not being known; the enemy dragged their wounded and dead away.

Las Anod-Nogal district from 1944 – 1960.

The motive for this Dervish development was said by Roman Loimeier as caused by how the Dhulbahante had not signed colonial protective treaties (since the Italians considered part of the Dhulbahante as subjects of the Italian-protected Sultan of the Majeerteen[13]), combined with the fear, agitation and anxiety from contemporaneous yearly expedition-raids by marauding Menelik II armies and their pillaging.[14]

During the British protectorate era, Las Anod was the capital of the Nogal District, the precursor province of Sool, described by John Hunt as an "entirely Dolbahanta" province.[15]

Garad Ali's USP party represented Warsangeli, Gadabuursi and Dhulbahante clans

The United Somali Party was founded in Las Anod with the intention of forming a non-Isaaq axis, due to tensions deriving from the instability in 1954 and 1955. The instability of 1954 was primarily due to camel-rustling between Dhulbahante and Habar Jeclo, whilst that of 1955 was due to roaming resulting from droughts that culminated into a war with Dhulbahante on one side battling the two Isaaq clans of Habr Yunis and Habar Jeclo on the other:[16]

On the 27th of October the District Commissioner Las Anod, completed the hearing of an enquiry into previous unrest in the region... One of those killed was a man of the Habar Yuunis Sa'ad Yuunis who were fighting with the Habar Ja'lo against the Ḍulbahante, and the other a man of the MaḤammad Abokor.

From 1959 until 1961, Las Anod was the seat of Garad Ali's USP party. With Las Anod as its seat, Garad Ali's USP party formed a coalition consisting of the Warsangeli, Gadabuursi and Dhulbahante clans. In the previous six years, Ali's father Garad Farah, was in self-induced exile in Mogadishu:

Ali Gerad Jama, the university – educated son of the Gerad ( chief ) Jama Farah ( who went into voluntary exile in Mogadiscio from 1952 to 1958 as a result of his conflict with the British administration ) provided the main drive behind the party.[17]

On October 15, 1969, whilst paying a visit to the city, Somali President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on October 21, 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Military seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, who at the time commanded the army.[18][19]

Aynabo representative Mohamed Geedeeye in 1940s, was the first elected USP representative, and as Caynabo elect, was the first post-independence Dhulbahante government minister

Initially, there was cordiality between the SYL party (Somali Youth League) and the northern Harti-dominated USP party; for instance the parties held joint conferences across Somalia and together expressed support for Somalia's new constitution in 1960.[20] However, post independence, Las Anod has had a history of suspicion of centralized politics, including against the unitary and Somali nationalist platform of the Somali Youth League (SYL). For example, in the 1960s, five SYL officials were killed within the city. Towards the end of the decade 16 people were once against killed when the SYL party supporters staged in the city.[21]

Throughout the 21st century, Las Anod has been described as the only city in the Horn of Africa wherein the population's dignitaries are regularly assassinated without a culprit, suspect or defendant being named, including the extolled influencer Cabdirisaaq Cardoofe, assassinated in 2021.[22]

In December 2022, a Las Anod politician was assassinated leading to violent confrontations and the death of 20 protesters.[23] The President of Somaliland announced that the cause of the incident must be identified.[24] President Puntland accused Somaliland of carrying out attacks against civilians.[25] The Somaliland government accused Puntland of spreading misinformation to incite violence in Las Anod.[26]

In early January 2023 Somaliland's Minister of Interior Mohamed Kahin Ahmed sat down with traditional elders and intellectuals from Las Anod to discuss the current situation in the city, where protests against the frequent assassinations in Las Anod are taking place.[27]

On January 31, the Somaliland government warned the country's media outlets against spreading news, reports, and polls that could worsen the situation in Las Anod that "everyone working in Somaliland is obligated to follow the laws of the country, first and foremost the Somaliland Constitution." [28]

On February 6, the first asylum seekers arrived in Ethiopia.[29]

On February 6, a committee composed of town leaders and traditional elders appointed to deliberate on the political future of the region attempted to publicly announce its intention to reject Somaliland and form a Federal Republic of Somalia under the name SSC-Khaatumo. However, Somaliland troops camped outside Las Anodos shelled the town and disrupted the announcement. [30]

On February 8, Las Anod mayor Abdirahim Ali Ismail stated that "this is not a war between Somaliland and Puntland, nor between Somaliland and terrorists, but between the Somaliland army and the people of Las Anod." [31]

On February 14, the Djiboutian government denied rumors of Djibouti's involvement in the fighting in Las Anod following unconfirmed reports on social media against Djibouti regarding the situation in Las Anod. [32]

On February 16, the BBC announced that the Las Anod rebel group had formed a cultural council; the BBC listed the key figures as Garad Jama Garad Ali, Garaad Cabdullaahi Garaad Saleebaan Garaad Maxamed, Garad Jama Garad Ismail Duale, Garaad Cabdirisaaq Garaad Soofe Durraan. [33]

Somaliland finance company Dahabshiil announces it will provide $200,000 to help displaced people in Las Anod.[34]

Nicholas Delaunay, director of the International Crisis Group's East and Southern Africa Project, said Somaliland has provided no concrete evidence of Al-Shabaab's involvement and that deeper issues behind the conflict must be addressed quickly.[35]

On February 23, United Nations Human Rights Council reported that more than 185,000 people, 89% of them women and children, have been displaced by the fighting in Las Anod that began on February 6.[36]

On February 25, a Somaliland military spokesman said, "Hostile forces with al-Shabaab background broke the ceasefire agreement and attacked Somaliland forces. The attack was repulsed and much of the city remains under the control of Somaliland forces."[37]

On February 26, Somaliland's Foreign Minister, Essa Kayd, announced the final withdrawal of troops from the front lines in Las Anod to designated military units in order to minimize civilian impact.[38]

He also said that al-Shabaab was behind the disturbances and that they chose Las Anod as a place of refuge because they were driven out of central Somalia.[39]

On February 28, a major hospital was hit by four mortar rounds, killing at least one person and wounding several others. Somaliland's Ministry of Defense denied that the military shelled the hospital and said such reports were "fake news" intended to damage the military's reputation.[40]

Since March 1, no major fighting has occurred and life has resumed peacefully. However, the devastation is evident, and there are major obstacles such as the roads to Burco and Bosaso, the source of supplies in peacetime.[41]

On March 2, the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia said, "In 1988, the Somali government launched a war against the civilian population. It is unfortunate that the same scenario is being repeated now," he said.[42]

On March 8, Somaliland military commander Nuh Ismail Tani announced in a media interview, "We have the right and the ability to retake Las Anod, but we are abiding by the government ceasefire agreement."[43]

On March 9, the Somaliland government said that among the fighters fighting Somaliland forces in Las Anod were troops from Ethiopia's Somali regional government.[44] The Ethiopian government denies it.[45]

Dervish movement (1899–1920) commemoration event in Las Anod 2016, with congregants wearing Shiikhyaale attire, i.e. a Dervish duubcad

There are many media companies whom operated in Las Anod in the 2010s, including Somnews, SBS,[60] Radio Las Anod,[61] Universal TV.[62]