Somalia’s separatist government agrees to unconditional cease-fire

The information was announced by the head of defense for the breakaway Somaliland region, Abdiqani Mahamoud Ateye, on Twitter.

It is not clear if this ceasefire has officially been implemented on the ground yet.

Earlier, fierce fighting broke out on February 6 between forces in Somaliland and militias in the town of Las Anod, the administrative center of the Sool region, after a committee made up of several local leaders , religious scholars and civil society groups declare that they do not recognize the Somaliland secessionist government and want to rejoin the Somali federation. The fighting left dozens dead and many injured. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had to call for a ceasefire and dialogue to pursue the goal of a unified country.

Somaliland seceded from the Somali Federation in 1991 but was not recognized by the international community and was also opposed by some chiefs in the eastern part of the region.