9 Somaliland soldiers were killed in renewed clashes with the Garhajis militia yesterday. According to Somaliland officials, additional seventeen soldiers sustained injuries. The rebel faction maintains that only one of its members was injured. However, the Somali Digest could not independently verify it.
Go’da Yar, Sahil region, Somaliland, SOMALIA. By Yahya:
Somaliland’s police commander, Gen. Mohamed Aden Saqadhi Dabagale, told the media that the rebel group ambushed Somaliland officers in Go’da Yar, a village located approximately 120 km from Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital.
The incident happened only days after the Garhajis militia, also known as Ga’an Libaah rebel forces, appeared in Dabogoryaale, a village located along the Somalia-Ethiopia border in Somaliland’s Togdheer region. Photos and videos emerged on social networks, showing the militiamen wayfaring the border town. The rebels reportedly stole two vehicles belonging to the HALO Trust, a UK-based international landmine-removing non-governmental organisation (NGO).
The Garhajis rebels acknowledged the hijacking and today reported the release of Ahmed Adan Madar, the driver of one of the hijacked vehicles. The rebels ordered the man to drive the car to the Ga’an Libaah mountain area before releasing him. The mountainous area serves as the group’s base.
Opposition leader: Muse Bihi should recall his troops
Somaliland’s Interior Minister, Mohamed Kahin, accused the opposition leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (also known as Irro) of having links with the rebels. However, he did not provide any evidence for the allegations.
Mr Irro issued a statement, assuring that he and his Waddani party do not support reaching solutions by shooting, force and coercion. He said his party stands for peace and unity, urging Somaliland’s President Muse Bihi to recall the troops he reportedly sent to Ga’an Libaah. He also called upon “armed civilians” to lay down their weapons.
The opposition leader said last month that the catalyst for the current crisis was the 2022 decision to postpone the election and lengthen President Bihi’s term. Somaliland’s House of Elders extended Mr Bihi’s term for two years in an unprecedented move decried by the opposition.
The President last week confirmed the Electoral Commission’s announcement to hold the presidential elections on 13 November 2024.
