LAS ANOD, Somalia Oct 25 (Garowe Online) - In growing resistance to Somaliland, one soldier from the breakaway Somali region died Thursday in Las Anod after locals rioted against the presence of Somaliland troops.

Hundreds of men, women and children pour onto the streets after word spread that Somaliland soldiers had entered the town for the first time since capturing it on October 15.

Las Anod locals resisting Somaliland forces

A Somaliland army unit backed by 14 armored vehicles entered Las Anod during the morning hours today to clean up roads blockaded by burned tires, rocks and other objects. The objects were intentionally placed on the city's major paved road over the past few days of rioting.

Rioters rushed to the scene as the soldiers were finishing their cleanup initiative, a local show owner told Garowe Online.

"They [rioters] put back the tires and other metals to block the road," he said.

The rioters hurled rocks at the soldiers, who shot in the air to scare away the angry locals. Four people, including a young boy, were wounded in the subsequent confusion.

One soldier was killed when a Somaliland armored truck rushing away from the rioters accidentally ran him over, witnesses reported.

More than 50 rioters were arrested by Somaliland security forces.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard across Las Anod throughout the day, residents said. A hotel housing Somaliland officials and a local government office were attacked by armed youth.

Somaliland's rural development minister, Fuad Adan Adde, told the BBC Somali Service that what is happening inside Las Anod is "an uprising, a resistance."

"We can avoid more bloodshed by listening to the elders and the religious sheikhs," Minister Adde said.

Although Minister Adde argued that Somaliland is in Las Anod to bring peace, he admitted to the BBC that his delegation could not drive through the town for fear of facing angry mobs.

"We could not drive through the town because of the disturbances and the insults," the Somaliland rural development minister said. He said he heard the sounds of gunfire but lacked the details of the any incident.

Fuad Adan Adde confirmed that "many people" were detained by authorities and transported to Mandhera Prison, where inmates including Somaliland's political prisoners are kept.

Elders from Sool region, led by Garad Jama Garad Ali, have repeatedly called on Somaliland to withdraw its forces from Las Anod.

Upwards of 20,000 people fled Las Anod in recent weeks, according to United Nations estimates.

Las Anod, the capital of disputed Sool region, has been the centerpiece of a violent border dispute between the breakaway Somaliland republic and the Puntland regional autonomy.

Puntland controlled the town since 2002, ruling over a peaceful city where Puntland officials lived, visited and worked in peace.

Source: Garowe Online