Las Anod
| Las Anod لاسعنود Laascaanood |
|
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
 |
|
 Las Anod
لاسعنود |
|
| Coordinates: 8°28′32″N 47°21′30″E / 8.47556°N 47.35833°E | |
| Country |  Somalia |
| Region | Sool |
| District | Las Anod |
| Time zone | East Africa Time (UTC+3) |
Las Anod (Somali: Laascaanood, Arabic: لاسعنود) is the administrative capital of Sool region of Somalia. The city was part of the Dervish State until 1921, when it was incorporated into the former British Somaliland protectorate.
Local control is disputed between Somaliland, a self-declared independent republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia, the autonomous Puntland region in northeastern Somalia, and HBM-SSC (Hoggaanka Badbaadada iyo Mideynta SSC), a local unionist group whose goal is the creation of its own regional administration (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn or SSC).[1]
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Las Anod is strategically positioned along trade routes in northwestern Somalia. The city is almost surrounded by hills and has considerable water resources, the latter of which makes it a prime destination for peoples from other parts of generally arid Somalia as well as from neighboring countries such as Djibouti and Ethiopia.
[edit] Demographics
Las Anod is one of the largest cities in Somalia, having grown in size from 20,000 inhabitants in 1990 to 60,000 in 2001.[2] Prior to 1991, the city was a small town. However, it has now expanded to the point where travelers require public transportation to navigate the city's 10 neighborhoods.
The overwhelming majority of the town's inhabitants belong to the Darod clan, notably the Dhulbahante sub-clan,[3] which is closely associated with Puntland.[4]
[edit] Education
The city has one university and numerous public and private schools. The Nugaal University (NU) which was founded in September, 2004 was the first higher institution school to be established in the area. The University has 60 students as of this year (2009) and 20 of them will graduate on September, 2009 which will make them the first students ever graduated from a university in their home State of Sool.
[edit] Economy
Las Anod's economy is based on livestock and communications. The area around the city is rich in livestock, while mobile phone services provide almost 40% of tax revenues.
[edit] History
On October 15, 1969, Somali President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated in Las Anod by one of his bodyguards.[5]
In 1991, when Somaliland unilaterally declared its independence from Somalia, it claimed Sool and its capital Las Anod, despite the fact that the clans in the area were closely tied to those in the adjacent provinces to the east, particularly Nugaal. In 2002, after Puntland reorgainzed following its 2001-2002 civil war, Puntland took over administration of Las Anod with the consent of the inhabitants.[6] However, as infrastructure spending in Sool was delayed some Dhulbahante clans felt disinfranchised by the government in Puntland, and sided with Somaliland in the October 2007 take-over by Somaliland.[3][6][7] Puntland has been unable to mobilize to retake Las Anod.[7] Las Anod is one of the largest cities in Somalia, having grown from 20,000 1990 to 250,000.[2] Puntland assumed control of it in 2002, and Somaliland took it over in October 2007.[8] Since Somaliland assumed control of the city, some 20,000 civilians moved.[6][8][9]
[edit] Landmarks
Lasanod has several landmarks. Among them are Goolad, Masjid Jama, Ataash, Royal, Durdurka, Darayda, Abdi Bille Football Stadium, Hills of Hilble, and Hills of Sayidka.
[edit] Religion
The inhabitants of Las Anod are Muslims.
[edit] Media
Radio Laascaanood is the main radio station operating in the Sool region from Las Anod.
[edit] References
- ^ Somaliland’s Quest for International Recognition and the HBM-SSC Factor
- ^ a b "Lasanood town urban vulnerability update 7 July 2003". ReliefWeb. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927184754/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/40d7a24abc52d97849256d60001f4bcc. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ a b Roble, Faisal (22 October 2007) "Somaliland: Is Invading Los Anod Part of Creating 'New Reality on the Ground'"? WardheerNews.Com
- ^ "Ein paar Leute müssen sterben" ("A few people must die")" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine. 1 November 2004. https://www.faz.net/s/Rub606F7D1C907A4A7F9C506AE24D76B150/Doc~ECB6C3A375A0B45AAAD8D6991841972E4~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html.
- ^ Moshe Y. Sachs, Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, (Worldmark Press: 1988), p.290
- ^ a b c "Somalia: Somaliland unable to control mass exodus out of Las Anod" Garowe Online 23 October 2007, from Internet Archive
- ^ a b "Somalia: Las Anod clan elders 'give up' on Puntland govt" Garowe Online 8 June 2008
- ^ a b "Somalia: Protests in Las Anod against visiting Somaliland ministers" Garowe Online 21 October 2007, from Internet Archive
- ^ "Somalia: Somaliland forces fire on civilians in Las Anod, 1 killed" Garowe Online 7 November 2007
