LAS ANOD, Somalia Nov 7 (Garowe Online) - At least one civilian was killed Wednesday morning in the northern Somali town of Las Anod after heavily armed troops from the breakaway Somaliland region entered the town in force, sources said.

Hundreds of Somaliland soldiers backed by armored vehicles entered Las Anod, capital of Sool region, in the early hours of Wednesday and immediately began clearing the major paved road.

Somaliland troops used heavy force to crush protestors

The road has been virtually impassable for weeks following the Somaliland takeover of Las Anod on October 15.

Rioters shut off the main road by using objects, rocks and burned tires, witnesses said.

Locals woke up to find Somaliland troops and armed trucks along the road. The Somaliland forces are led by a local commander allied to the separatist government in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland.

Somaliland soldiers fired into a crowd of angry locals who attempted to place the objects back on the road. One young male was killed in the incident and three others, including a woman, were injured, a local journalist confirmed to Garowe Online.

The situation in Las Anod grew calmer as the day progressed. By afternoon time, the riots came to a halt and the situation returned to normal.

Yesterday, the Somaliland government released twenty-two people arrested during riots on October 25. [ Full story]

In neighboring Puntland, which lost control of Las Anod, President Mohamud “Adde” Muse toured towns today in the eastern outskirts of Las Anod where hundreds of families displaced by recent warfare sought safety.

President Muse addressed the locals and asked them to express their concerns. He promised that the Puntland government will retake Las Anod soon and return them to their rightful homes, according to the Puntland government website.

On Sunday, the Puntland Parliament voted in favor of giving the Muse government one month to retake Las Anod or face a confidence motion in parliament. [ Full story]

Somaliland seeks to break away from the rest of Somalia using colonial-era boundaries that include the regions of Sool and Sanaag, which are dominated by clans closely associated with Puntland.

Regional observers fear the outbreak of fresh battles in the disputed region of Sool, which has been the centerpiece of the Somaliland-Puntland power struggle since 2002.

More than 20,000 civilians fled Las Anod since mid-October, according to United Nations figures.

Source: Garowe Online