Friday October 8, 2021
Beledweyne (HOL) - At least 100 families who were forcibly removed from Las Anod by Somaliland authorities last week have arrived in Beledweyne on Thursday to be resettled.
The families received a warm welcome from the regional and district administrations and community leaders, who provided food and water to the weary travellers.
One of the men who arrived in Beledweyne described the treatment he received in Las Anod.
"My wife and I moved to Las Anod in 1996 and established a family with 24 children and grandchildren. We were not valued in the area. We were forced out of the area at gunpoint," said one of the deportees.
The Somali government called on authorities in the breakaway region of Somaliland to stop the forced evictions.
The UN humanitarian agency said on Wednesday that more than 2,800 Somalis had been forcibly relocated.
The Somali government said that it is working with regional leaders to assist in relocating the families.