Fighting continues for the eighth day in Lascaanood town where Somaliland troops who lost the city last month face SSC fighters.
The two sides engaged in a deadly gunfight early in the morning as SSC traditional elders were preparing to announced the result of days-long conference in Las Anod city.
Somaliland earlier accused Al-Shabaab militants of taking part in the fighting, though the group later rejected the claim, saying it is aimed at receiving Western support in draconian measures against Lasanod residents.
Dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands were forced to flee their neighborhoods since the fighting erupted.
Somalia’s government, international partners and Somali intellectuals called for an immediate ceasefire and urged both sides to end the conflict through dialogue.
Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not received widespread international recognition for its independence.
Its government has faced heavy opposition in Las Anod and surrounding areas, where some clan leaders are seeking to rejoin federal Somalia and have accused the Somaliland authorities of failing to tackle insecurity.
