MOGADISHU-US Embassy in Mogadishu has called for immediate cease fire in Bosasso, Puntland state where forces loyal to president Siyad Abdullahi Deni and US trained PSF forces are at loggerheads with each other.
In a official statement posted on their Twitter handle, the US Embassy in Mogadishu urged a return to dialogue to find a negotiated, peaceful resolution and said continued fighting will cause destruction.
We urge an immediate end to hostilities in Bossaso and a return to dialogue to find a negotiated, peaceful resolution. Continued fighting will only inflict further harm on Bossaso and its people.
— U.S. Embassy Mogadishu, Somalia (@US2SOMALIA) December 21, 2021
Three people including a child are reported to have been killed in the offensive.
Heavy fighting between PSF forces loyal to sacked commander Mohamed Osman Diyano and Puntland Security forces is ongoing in the coastal town of Bosaaso in Northern Bari region since last night.
According to local reports, Puntland forces reportedly attacked the bases and positions controlled by the PSF leading to a confrontation between the two rival forces.
Puntland president Said Abdullahi Deni on Tuesday afternoon returned back to Garowe from Baidoa, South West State where he attended the commemoration of the third anniversary of Abdiaziz Lafta-Garen as heavy gun battle continued in Bosaso town.
Madaxweynaha Dowladda #Puntland Mudane @SaidAbdullahiDe iyo wafdi uu hoggaaminayo maalmahan booqasho ku joogay #Baydhabo, ayaa hadda dib-ugu-soo laabtay #Garoowe. pic.twitter.com/WGHv4qWVzG
— Puntland State House (@Plstatehouse) December 21, 2021
Sources close to the fighting said that the two warring factions ae using heavy weaponry and artillery in the fight as residents in the besieged neighborhood flee from their homes for fear of being caught in the gun clashes.
Local journalists reported that the PSF forces loyal to former commander Mohamed Diyano have taken control of the Presidential palace though the regional government has not spoken about the seizure.
Videos that sufficed online showed residents in the neighboring Ridhwan village scampering for safety as PSF captured vehicles loaded with heavy artillery and weapons from the Puntland forces.
Recent talks to end the PSF stalemate and salvage the army from the debacle after the sacking of its commander by President Said Abdullahi Deni flopped in the eleventh hour.
