District Conflict and Security Assessment Report. Las Anod 2013

Transcription

1 District Conflict and Security Assessment Report Las Anod 2013

2 RESEARCHERS AND CONTRIBUTORS Abdullahi Odowa (Senior Social Researcher, General Director, OCVP) Abdifatah Tahir (Research Advisor, OCVP) Abdirahman Hassan (Lead Researcher, OCVP) Ahmed Muse (Research Coordinator, OCVP) Kenneth Mutinda (Research Assistant, OCVP) Omar Abshir (Data Analyst, OCVP) The Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention All rights are reserved. Requests for permission to reproduce or translate OCVP s publications whether for sale or for noncommercial distribution should be addressed to the OCVP via ( [email protected]). Publications of OCVP can be obtained from our offices in Hargeisa, Somaliland, or could be downloaded from our website 2

3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention (OCVP) would like to thank the interviewees and survey participants who gave us their precious time and shared their thoughts on such sensitive issues. We also thank the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia, in particular the Community Security Project within the Governance and Rule of Law Programme, for providing us with financial support to undertake this assessment. 3

4 OVERVIEW The district assessment reports are aimed at providing information on the state of conflict and security at the local level. The reports target key indicators, namely: security, justice and governance, to measure peace building and governance in the districts. Data for these indicators is gathered through both quantitative techniques such as questionnaires and qualitative techniques such as focus group discussions and key informant interviews. As part of these assessments, this report was conducted in Las Anod district and the following were its key findings: Security The perception of respondents towards security providers in Las Anod District was judged poorly as 61% of the respondents said they either had a low or very low trust in the police. None the less, police presence in the community was reported positively as 65% of the respondents affirmed police presence in the community. However, almost half of the respondents, 49%, did not know the number of police officers in the community. Justice Confidence in the formal justice system in the district was rated relatively good as nearly 65% of the respondents said they were either confident or very confident in the formal justice system. Respondents cited two main categories of cases for which courts were used, 56% said robbery was the major issue dealt with by the courts while 44% said land disputes were the major issues taken to courts. In regard to issuance of judgments, 67% of the respondents said sentences were issued by the courts. Governance Familiarity with local representatives appeared quite low as 66% of the respondents said they were not familiar with their local representatives. Participation in local government consultations was also rated poor as 93% of the respondents said they had never attended consultation meetings with the local council. The importance of elected officials as represnetatives of the people was equally under-rated as 46% of the respondents saw no importance in having publicly elected officials.. 4

5 Location of Las Anod District in Sool Las Anod Source: UN OCHA 5

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY QUESTIONNAIRES FOCUS GROUPS KEY INFORMANTS PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS PERCEIVED PERFORMANCE OF SECURITY, JUSTICE, AND GOVERNANCE SECURITY PROVIDER JUSTICE PROVIDER GOVERNANCE PROVIDER FORMS OF INSECURITY AND VIOLENCE EXPERIENCE IN CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE DYNAMICS OF THE CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE PERCEPTION TOWARDS SAFETY KEY ISSUES ON SECURITY, JUSTICE, AND GOVERNANCE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS Community security and safety concerns: Most common causes of disputes or conflict Types of violence: Other significant concerns: Satisfaction with the performance of the local government: Areas for improvement KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS Conflict and Violence Occurrence Major concerns in the district CONCLUSION

7 1 INTRODUCTION Continual assessment of issues directly affecting community safety and security is critical for providing effective evidence based programming on development. It helps us to measure the outcome and impact of interventions in tackling insecurity and enhances our understanding of what works and does not work at the community level. District level assessments are therefore used in this spirit so as to identify issues that are affecting the different communities in the diverse zones of the districts. By using key indicators such as governance, justice and security, this report provides an assessment on the state of conflict, safety and security in Las Anod. security, justice and governance providers in the district. They were administered on randomly selected 80 male and female persons from different households. 2.2 Focus Groups Discussions The focus group discussions were used to capture different perceptions about the nature of insecurities in the district. Focus groups consisted of women, youths, business people, as well as traditional and religious leaders who were brought together and asked to identify all the major types of insecurity and conflict experienced in the district. They were also asked to describe the causes and locations of the conflict as well as identifying individuals or institutions they trusted to either prevent or respond to violence. 2 METHODOLOGY Data for the district conflict and security assessment on Las Anod was collected through a combination of three research tools namely questionnaires, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. 2.1 Questionnaires Questionnaires were used to capture the necessary quantitative information for outlining an accurate picture of the level of deployment, level of use and perception of 2.3 Key Informants Interviews Qualitative interviews were conducted on key informants who had in-depth knowledge of the political and security situation in Las Anod. Five individuals who include a key district elder, a key religious leader, the police commissioner, a prosecutor, the police commissioner and the mayor where each interviewed for about half an hour. 7

8 2.4 Profile of Respondents Figure 2: Respondents age groups The questionnaires were administered on 80 households 1 in 4 subdivisions of Las Anod namely: Jamalaye, Maandaremin, Samalaye, and Shacabka. Gender representation during data collection was also emphasized as 40% of the respondents were female and 60 % were male (Fig 1). Figure 1: Respondents gender 71% of the respondents were married while 29% were single (Fig 3). Figure 3: Respondents marital status Respondents age groups were distributed across different ranges. 25% of the respondents fell in the range of years, 20 % were between 30 to 39 years, and 16 % were in the range of years (Fig 2). 1 One respondent per household 8

9 3 PERCEIVED PERFORMANCE OF SECURITY, JUSTICE, AND GOVERNANCE 3.1 Security Provider When respondents were asked about the presence of police in their community, 65% of them affirmed police presence while 35% said there were no police officers present in their community (Fig 4). 55% and 75% of respondents in Maandaremin and Samalaye said there was no police presence in their community (Tab 1) Table 1: Variations in the perception towards police presence in the community by subdivision Figure 4: Respondents perception towards police presence Gender variations also existed in the perceptions towards presence of the police in the community. 84% of male respondents affirmed police presence in the community, while, 47% of the female respondents said there was no police presence in the community (Tab 2). Respondents from the various locations in the district had different perceptions about police presence in the community. For instance, 95% of the respondents in Jamalaye and Shacabka said police were present in the community whereas 9

10 Table 2: Variations in the perception towards police presence in the community by gender Figure 5: Respondents perception towards the level of police presence Almost half of the respondents, 49%, did not know the number of police officers in the community while 15% estimated them to be in the range of 5-9 police officers, 11% said there were between 1 to 4while 5%, 4% and 3% of the respondents said the number of officers in their community fell in the range of 20-24, and officers respectively (Fig 5). Nearly one third of the respondents, 21%, pointed out that they walk 6-10 minutes from their homes to the nearest police station, 26% did not know the distance, and 19 % said that they walk 1-5 minutes while 11% said they walk minutes (Fig 6). Respondents from the different subdivisions in the district had also given varying estimations on the distance between their homes and the police station. For instance, 65% and 55% of respondents in Shacabka and Jamalaye respectively said they were within 10 minutes walking distance to the police station while 10% and 30% of respondents in Maandaremin and Samalaye respectively said they were within 10 minutes walking distance to the police station (Tab 3). 10

11 Figure 6: Respondents estimation of distance to the police station With regard to whom the community would prefer reporting civil 2 cases to, 26% of the respondents said they would prefer to report their cases to the courts while an equal number, 26%, of respondents said they would report to the police. 23% would prefer to report these cases to community elders while 10% and 1% said they would report civil cases to the local authority and religious leaders respectively (Fig 7). Figure 7: Respondents preference of reporting on civil cases Table 3: Variations on the estimation of distance to the police station by subdivision With regard to petty crimes 3, 50% of the respondents said they would report such cases to the police while 13% and another similar 13% each said would prefer to report to the community elders and religious leaders respectively. Only 4% 2 Land dispute, divorce, etc 3 Robbery, household violence, etc 11

12 of the respondents said they would take their cases to the courts (Fig 8). Table 4: Variations in the preference of reporting on civil cases by gender Figure 8: Respondents preference of reporting on petty crimes Table 5: Variations in preference of reporting on petty crimes by gender Significant gender variation was observed in regard to whom the male and female respondents would refer reporting disputes to. 44% of the male respondents said they would report civil cases to the courts, while 15% of the female respondents opted for the courts (Tab 4). When the respondents were asked about their reporting preference in regard to serious crimes 4, 73% said they would report such crimes to the police, 11 % would report to religious leaders, 6% and 5% preferred the courts and 4 Grave assault, rape and murder etc 12

13 community leaders respectively while 4% preferred reporting serious crimes to the local authority (Fig 9). Figure 9: Respondents preference of reporting on serious crimes Figure 10: Respondents level of trust in police response Regarding the level of trust in the police, 61% of the respondents pointed out that they had low or very low trust in the police while 23% and 15% said that they had high or a very high level of trust in the police respectively (Fig 10). Female respondents also showed a higher level of mistrust in the police than their male counter parts. 41% of the female respondets said they did not trust the police as while only 18% of their male counterparts did not trust the police (Tab 6). 13

14 Table 6: Variations in the level of trust on police response by gender Table 7: Variations in the level of trust on police response by subdivision As for the different subvidvisions of the distrcit, the level of trust respondents had in the police generally took the same line notwithstanding the fact that respondents in Maandaremin seemed to have a lower level of trust in the police than their counterparts in the other subdivisions (Tab 7). 3.2 Justice Provider Perception of the existence of courts in the study area was generally good as 66% of the respondents said that courts exist in the district (Fig 11). 14

15 Figure 11: Respondents perception towards the existence of courts Table 8: Variations in the perception towards the existence of courts in the district by subdivision However, there were geographical variations in respondents perception of existence of courts in the district. For instance, a high number of respondents in Shacabka, Jamalaye and Maandaremin confirmed that courts do exist in the district, while a majority of respondents in Shacabka said courts do not exist in the district (Tab 8). In terms of the number of courts in the district, 53% of the respondents said that there is 1 court in the district while 26% of them could not estimate the number of courts in the district (Fig 12). Geographical variations also existed in the responses given on the number of courts in the district. While most respondents in Jamalaye and Shacabka (85% and 90% respectively) said there is 1 court in the district, 35% of the respondents in Maandaremin said there are 2 courts in the district whereas respondents in Samalaye said there were no courts in the district at all (Tab 9). 15

16 Figure 12: Respondents estimation of the number of courts 31% of the respondents said the walking distance from their homes to the court is in the range of 5-9 minutes, 29% said that it is more than 20 minutes while 5 % did not know the walking distance to the court. (Fig 13) Figure 13: Respondents estimation of distance to the courts Table 9: Variations in the perception towards the number of courts in the district by subdivision In regard to awareness of existence of legal clinics in the district, a vast majority (91 %), of the respondents said they were not aware of the existence of the legal clinic while only 7% of the respondents said knew of the existence of legal aid clinics in the district (Fig 14). There was no significant gender variations in the respondents awareness of the existence of legal aid clinics in the district but variations existed in the responses from the different subdivisions of the district. Respondents in Shacabka recorded a higher level (20%) of 16

17 awareness about the legal clinic than their counterparts in the other subdivisions (Tab 10). Table 10: Variations in the awareness about the existence of legal aid clinic in the district by subdivision Figure 14: Respondents awareness about the existence of legal aid clinic When it comes to the usage of the courts, a vast majority of the respondents (96%), said they had not used the courts in the past 12 months, while 3% pointed out that they had used courts in the past 12 months (Fig 15). 17

18 Figure 15: Respondents usage of the courts Table 11: Variations in the usage of courts by subdivision Majority of respondents were least interested in seeking justice from local elders over the past 12 months as 94% of them said they had not used the local elders for issues of justice. Equally, the usage of courts by respondents from the different subdivisions was fairly as only 10% of respondents in Samalaye had used the courts in the last 12 months while no respondents from Jamalaye, Shacabka and Maanaremin had used the courts (Tab 11). With respect to court referrals, the findings indicate that family members led in referring cases to courts followed by the police and elders (Fig 16) 18

19 Figure 16: Respondents referral to the courts Figure 17: Respondents account of the issues taken to courts Respondents in the district also cited two main cases for which courts were used. 56% identified robbery as the major issue dealt with by the courts while 44 % said land disputes were the major issues taken to the courts (Fig 17). When asked about the issuance of judgment by the courts and enforcements of such judgments, 67% said that judgments were issued while the remainder stated the opposite (Fig 18). Respondents were also divided on the enforcement of judgments as 50% said judgements were enforced while another 50% said judgements were not enforced (Fig 19). 19

20 Figure 18: Respondents account on the issuance of judgments Confidence in the formal justice system was rated relatively good as about 65% of the respondents were either confident or very confident in the formal justice system (Fig 20). There was no significant gender variations in the trust respondents had in the formal justice system (Tab 12). Figure 20: Respondents level of confidence in the formal justice system Figure 19: Respondents account on the enforcement of judgments 20

21 Table 12: Variations in the level of trust on formal justice by gender Figure 21: Respondents familiarity with elected representatives 3.3 Governance Provider Table 13: Variations in the perception towards respondents familiarity with representatives in the local district council by subdivision Familiarity with local representatives was quite poor as 66% of the respondents said they were not familiar with their local representatives (Fig 21). The same was seen from the subdivisions perspective as 75%, 65%, and 60% of respondents in Jamalaye, Samalaye and Maandaremin respectively said that they did not know their elected representatives (Tab 13). 21

22 Participation in local government consultations was also very poor as 93% of the respondents said that they had not attended consultation meeting with the local council (Fig 22). Figure 23: Respondents level of participation in consultations Figure 22: Respondents participation in local government consultations Of the respondents who had participated in the local government consultations, 42% of them said they had participated once while 15% said they had participated twice (Fig 23). The importance of elected officials as representatives of the people was rated relatively low as 46% of the respondents said that it is not important to have an elected official while only 37% said it was important to have an elected official (Fig 24). Majority of female respondents saw no need of having elected officials as only 29% of them said it was important to have elected officials (Tab 14). There was also geographical variation in respondents perception of having elected officials as 50% and 40% of respondents in Maadaremin and Jamalaye said it was important to have elected representatives.. 22

23 Figure 24: Respondents perception towards elected representatives Health topped the list of services offered by the local government as 28% of respondents said it is the most important service they received followed by agriculture, justice and education (Fig 24). Figure 25: Respondents perception towards local government services Table 14: Variations in the perception towards the importance of elected representatives by gender When respondents were asked about the problems facing their community, 26% identified drought as the most significant problem facing the community followed by poor health, poor sanitation and lack of water as identified by 19%, 14%, and 14% of respondents respectively. Furthermore, 8% of respondents identified unemployment as another concern while 5% of them said poor economy and lack of infrastructure are problems facing the community (Fig 25). 23

24 Figure 26: Respondents perception towards the local issues 4 FORMS OF INSECURITY AND VIOLENCE 4.1 Experience in Conflict and Violence Conflict in the area seemed very low as 90% of the respondents said that there was no conflict between the clans in the district for the past 12 months (Fig 27). Figure 27: Respondents perception towards conflict occurrence While most respondents said there was no conflict in the district, 9% of the respondents said conflict occurred, 50% of who said conflict had occurred twice over the past 12 months while 25% said conflict had occurred once or three times over the last 12 months (Fig 28). 24

25 Figure 28: Respondents estimation of the level of conflict occurrence Figure 29: Respondents account of the reasons for the conflict 4.2 Dynamics of the conflict and violence Figure 30: Respondents account of witnessing a crime against someone Various factors were identified to have cause conflict in the district. 25% of the respondents identified family disputes as one such factor while 13% identified resources, such as land, and power struggle as other factors that had caused conflict in the district. A small percentage of respondents, 9% and 5%, identified revenge and petty crimes respectively as causes of conflict (Fig 29). Moreover crime was perceived to be relatively low as 84% of respondents they had not witnessed crimes outside their household (Fig 30). 25

26 4.3 Perception towards safety Safety in Las Anod was rated poor as 68% of the respondents said they felt unsafe or very unsafe in their areas of residence (Fig 31). However there were geographical and gender variations in respondents perception of safety. For instance, 54 % of female respondents said they felt very unsafe as opposed to 41% of their male counterparts. Similarly, 85% and 50% of respondents in Samalaye and Jamalaye respectively said they felt very unsafe in their areas while 35% and 25% of respondents in Shacabka and Maandaremin said they felt unsafe in their localities. Figure 31: Respondents perception towards safety in their area 5 KEY ISSUES ON SECURITY, JUSTICE, AND GOVERNANCE 5.1 Focus Group Discussions This summary is based on focus group discussions held in Las Anod on 10 th to 11 th March These focus groups are part of the District Conflict and Security Assessment (DSA). DSA is an annual assessment that will be conducted at the district every year to assist in local councils annual planning processes. The following groups took part in the discussions: Women; Youth (male and female in one focus group); Elders and Religious leaders; Business leaders Community security and safety concerns: According to most members of the women focus group, Las Anod District did not face major safety issues. One participant though noted that in some areas of the district, mobile phone theft and muggings were common after dark. She also added that in some incidents, victims were forced to give in their ZAAD pin codes. Another participant pointed out that robbery 26

27 at times happens on the highway that connects Las Anod to other towns in Somaliland or Puntland. With the exception of these random incidents, the women focus group participants said they felt safe in their community. This though contradicts data collected from the questionnaire which showed 54% of the female respondents felt unsafe in their areas. This is in contradiction of oral statements made by the women who said they stay outside their homes late, or may even walk in the city as late as pm. A woman participant said that the residents of the town know each other well. The religious leader s focus group also noted that mobile phone muggings does happen at times in the district especially in the early hours of the evening and were often perpetrated by the youth. A participant in the business focus group said mobile phone muggings were more common in some areas of the town than in others. He identified Dami as one area prone to mobile phone theft. The same discussion group also identified rape as another crime committed in the district and if not resolved in time, could lead to inter-clan conflict. One young lady in the youth focus group also pointed out that they have to leave the university campus early. 5 She said, Everyone in the community is a target and is vulnerable to 5 Las Anod has one university, Nugaal University, which has one campus in the heart of the town. A feeling of insecurity in the middle of the town could be an indication of the perception of insecurity felt by the local population. become a victim of targeted killings. While this general fear has been shared by almost all focus groups, one young female participant also added that targeted killings were planned: killers often plan to kill religious leaders and government officials. These groups were more vulnerable than the rest of the population. Revenge killings had also been a source of insecurity in the district, that s according to the youth focus group. A youth participant said that an educated person might be forced to dissert the district due to fear that they might one day fall victim of revenge killings. The youth group however said revenge killings have declined in recent times. According to a youth female participant, a general fear prevailed in the district. She said that every person is in constant fear that he or she may one day be arrested by the government, and that the government has been in constant state of alert. This situation has forced young people to go home in the early hours of the evening. By 7:00 pm, every young person is in his or her house, and the mosques were sometimes guarded by the army. The youth focus group also noted that working for the government of Somaliland or having any kind of relationship with it may put one s life at risk. A young male participant said that he even felt afraid of going to the youth centre, located opposite the local government and near the district courts, and other government buildings. 27

28 5.1.2 Most common causes of disputes or conflict The youth focus group identified land based disputes and conflict over land most prevalent in the district. Two of the local business leaders focus group participants were engaged in a land based dispute at the time the research team met them; they left for the case soon after the discussion was completed. According to the women focus group, the most common cause of conflict within the community was land, though deaths related to land disputes or conflicts were not common. Other sources of community conflicts, according to the women group, included struggle over natural resources such as water and pasture and delayed personal loans. Such conflicts are as a result of widespread poverty in the district. For many, violence is a means of survival, according to the women focus group. Another common cause of conflict within the community was unemployment. Since majority of the people are unemployed, the slightest employment opportunity causes dispute within the community. If one NGO, for instance, wants to implement a school construction project, many unemployed people, far more than the expected number, may turn up anticipating employment but when the project can t absorb all of them, conflict may arise. The youth focus group expressed concern over detention of people without trial. The detainees may belong to a certain clan group while the person who gave the order of their arrest may belong to another clan group. This can lead to conflict within the two clans. Detention of people without trial also added to the lack of cooperation between the government and the local population. One female participant pointed out that the existence of opposing political groups within the community, in particular Sool region, was a major source of violence or insecurity in the district. According to one participant, one of causes of poor safety and security in the district is due to the fact that about 95% of the population is against Somaliland. Another source of community insecurity, identified, was existence of the rebels who are against Somaliland, whether Islamist or otherwise. This lack of cooperation between the authorities and the local population gave breeding room for criminal groups. The local business leaders focus group expressed particular concern over baseless detention of people often by use of force. The same group, attributed insecurity to institutions mandated to promote it. A participant in the same group said that he was arrested after he bailed out someone who was not on the run but present in town. He was arrested without any explanation for his arrest. For these reasons, the local business leaders focus group agreed the authorities attitude 28

29 toward the local population is one that marginalizes the residents and sets them against the administration. Another source of community insecurity was high levels of youth unemployment. According to a participant in the women focus group, about 80% of the population in the district is unemployed. If a person does not have reliable source of livelihood, they can commit unimaginable crimes. Other women participants emphasized that drug addiction has been a contributing factor to insecurity Types of violence: The women focus group participants could not specifically identify any major type of violence in the community. One participant said violence has always been there it is traditional. Firearms, bladed weapons and sticks were identified as the most common types of weapons used by perpetrators. According to the women focus group, people carry guns inside the town, and almost everyone has a gun at home. In a recent incident, brawlers threw bottles filled with sand at each other. The women group also complained of increased security presence in Oog, a region that houses international agencies, and not providing the same security in Las- Anod. Since the women viewed Oog and Las Anod as similar places acts of exclusion and marginalization were not welcomed by them. With regard to the most important institutions or individuals that have the power to either prevent or stop violence, the women focus group identified the police due to their ability to promptly respond and stop violence. The women focus group also identified the role of elders and traditional leaders in resolving the causes of conflict and violence in the community. One participant in the women focus group said elders and traditional leaders work as envoys. The local business leaders focus group said most of the people in the district are satisfied with the role of religious leaders play in matters of justice since Sharia and the customary law goes hand in hand, and are closely related. According to participants in the women focus group, people of the district have high trust in the traditional leaders when it comes to the provision of justice since it is a less costly. This group though recognized that formal courts come in when traditional means of dispute resolution fail but noted that traditional law is dynamic since it s capable of adapting to social change Other significant concerns: Lack of water was cited as the most important concern in the community. According to one participant in the women focus group, one barrel of water costs $5. Water also has to be brought from Burao, about 243 km to the west, or from 29

30 reservoirs in the Huad, often from Kala Baydh village, some 30 km to the south of Las Anod. The district does not have piped water, and the water found from a nearby stream was not suitable for human consumption as its salinity levels are too high. The second most important concern was lack of employment opportunities in the district and the region in general. A substantial majority of the population of the district is poor and the district does not have sufficient sources of livelihood. Poor health services, poor education, expensive electricity, and poor infrastructure were also identified as significant concerns in the community. Primary public schools are not free; parents have to pay monthly fees of up to $7 per child. Free primary education, though attempted in the district, had not been successful and the government was forced to withdraw from the attempt altogether. Many children are therefore unable to school. According to one women participant, up to 75% of children were out of school. Reshaping the education system seems politically impractical, according to the women focus group participants. When the women focus group participants were asked to rank security against other significant concerns, they all pointed out that without security there will be no life, but they also emphasized the importance of all the other concerns. Religious leaders and traditional leaders focus group also expressed concern over the expansion of Somaliland s army into areas they previously didn t control. According to these leaders, this military expansion had been with consultation with the local population. They further added continued expansion would increase the local population s dissatisfaction. Of the most significant concerns in the community, according to the religious and traditional leaders focus group was need of capacity building for the police force, in terms of both their number and trainings. The number of police officers should be increased and they should be trained on the principles of civilian policing. In was also noted that the police also needed communication and transport facilities. Respondents in the religious and traditional leaders focus groups were though divided on the role of the police in providing security services to the local community. Some of participants emphasized on the importance of the police, while others wanted the police to leave the district. The local business leaders focus group expressed concern over transfer of criminals from Las Anod to Hargeisa. They saw no need of having suspected murderers who have admitted to having committed crimes transferred to Hargeisa. It was their opinion that such criminals should be tried in the district. 30

31 5.1.5 Satisfaction with the performance of the local government: When asked about their satisfaction with the performance of the local government, the women focus group said that the district council was still new and thus needed more time before an evaluation of its performance could be done. The women focus group also said that the local government had done a good job in regard to improving sanitation in the district. They noted that garbage was regularly collected from the town and that the local government had a land disputes committee. All other groups agreed with the women focus group Areas for improvement The women focus group did, however note that the capacity of the local government should be enhanced since, for instance, the local council collected garbage with bare hands. Traditional and religious leaders focus group participants were also satisfied with the current performance of the local government but noted t that the local government lacked the necessary capacity to deliver required services to the community. One traditional leader said that while garbage was collected from the town, it was not disposed in proper dumping sites. Need to increase the capacity of the local government in managing solid waste was identified as an area that needed urgent improvement. The women s focus group also noted that street lighting was another area that needed improvement. They suggested that the local government should provide lighting in street corners. The religious and traditional leaders focus group suggested that the local government should do its best to improve the image of the town since roads had been blocked by the residents in an effort to expand their houses. 5.2 Key informant interviews This summary is based on key informant interviews conducted as part of District Conflict and Security Assessments held in Las Anod on 10th to 13th March The following key informants were interviewed: Key local elder; Key local elder; The mayor; Key religious leader Conflict and Violence Occurrence Recent significant conflicts had occurred in Talex, to the east of Las Anod, and in Cadaadda. According to a key local elder, both conflicts were between sub clans of the Harti. The Talex area conflict was between Ugaadhyahan of the Dhulbahante and Ciise Maxamuud of the Majeerteen. These conflicts generated violence, and according to the key local elder, 31

32 Puntland had supported the Majeerteen clan against the Dhulbahante while traditional and religious elders from Somaliland had tried to bring the violence to an end. In the conflict between Cumar Maxamuued and Bah Harsame, about 40 people were killed and more than 20 were injured. The Cadaadda conflict was between Cumar Maxamuud, of the Majeerteen, and Bah Harsame, of the Dhulbahante. In both conflicts, the causes of the conflict were related to settlements created in grazing areas commonly owned by the community. Neither conflict has been resolved yet. According to a key religious leader, most of the recent conflicts have occurred in Taleh and Hudun areas between the Somaliland army and the Khatumo militias. The religious leader equally attributed the conflict to the establishment of new settlements. He also noted that at least four people were killed in the past 12 months and there had been a number of confrontations between the two sides. The religious leader also pointed out that there were unresolved conflicts in the Cadaadda area to the south of Las Anod. The district mayor said resource based conflict had occurred near Yayle village and the cause of the conflict was related to the establishment of new settlements. This conflict did not generate violence and was resolved by traditional means.. In regard to the Cadaadda conflict mentioned above by the key religious leader and the key local elder, the mayor noted that the conflict had spread beyond the two sub clans of Bah Harsame and Cumar Maxamuud of the Majeerteen. In a recent incident, a man from Jama Siyad sub clan of the Dhulbahante was killed by the Cumar Maxamuud. The Police Commissioner observed that the most important challenges the district and the region faced were due to the geographical location of the region. He noted that the region been occupied by opposing political movements. The political currents prevailing in Somalia had consequences on the security of the region. The region also shares borders with Ethiopia and Puntland. According to the Police Commissioner the so-called Khatumo state of Somalia poses security challenges in the district as well as the region. The most common security issue noted included the hijacking of trucks carrying contraband goods from Puntland to Somaliland. The Police Commissioner said that conflicts happen daily in the district and the region, but during the research no conflicts worth noting occurred. The Police Commissioner also noted that the most important issues that lead to conflicts include the establishment of new settlements in grazing areas. In Ceegaag area, major clans were brought to the brink of violence mainly due to the construction of new reservoirs. According to the Police Commissioner, the police often discourage people from constructing water reservoirs. Ceegaag is now a village, and 32

33 the conflict was prevented by allowing each clan to settle in the area peacefully. Such an approach isn t environmentally friendly.. The Police Commissioner said attempts by Somalia s federal government to recruit local militias may also pose a security threat in the region Major concerns in the district According to the mayor, Sool region as a whole is the least developed region in Somaliland, for instance, the roads are in poor shape and the local government only has 3 heavy duty trucks, but lacks shovel tractors required to open roads or clean the town. He attributed this to lack of enough revenue allocation to the local government required to finance road construction. The mayor also noted that garbage was all over the district and stated that the local government did not have the capacity to collect it. When asked about his rating of local government performance, the mayor said that the local government had performed 70% of its mandated work. He though pointed out that the local government did not have the financial capacity to deliver all required services. From a positive point of view, the mayor said that the local government had a land disputes committee which had the ability to manage local land disputes accordingly. When asked about his plans in the coming year, the mayor said that his first priority is the construction of the road to the hospital. The second priority is collection of about 200 loads of garbage from the town and the construction of a slaughterhouse in the coming year. He noted that the construction of a slaughter house was necessary since sheep, cattle and camels were slaughtered out in the open.. The mayor also stated that the local government intended to open a market for cattle in the district. In addition to these plans the mayor said that the local government would do its best to improve relations between the government and the local population. The mayor said that this is the only way by which terrorists and criminals can be contained. The mayor appreciated the move by the central government to change the former governor and the former Police Commissioner. From his perspective the two were not fit to hold these positions. According to the key local elder, police and community relations were weak. He noted that the significant areas of concern in the community included solving political differences within the community of Las Anod since the community lacked a collective political agreement. In addition to political differences, the district water and healthcare services were in poor shape this also needed attention. He though noted that security was of more importance than all the other concerns, thus needed to be considered first. The Police Commissioner emphasized on the importance of improving all sectors of social services, such as water, 33

34 education and healthcare, noting that water should be given first priority. The Police Commissioner also told the team that getting potable water for the district had been tried several times, but all attempts had failed. Drills had been broken. But the commissioner said that he believed potable water could somehow be reached. root causes of the conflicts and potential conflicts so as to prevent possible violence from occurring and mitigate existing ones. 6 CONCLUSION Las Anod falls in Sool region where Somaliland and Puntland both claim ownership of and its control is often contested. Due to this coupled with divisions in the community and varying allegiance to the competing parties, i.e. Somaliland, Puntland and more recently Khatumo the risk of politically motivated conflicts in the area is high. In addition to this, conflict also occurs between and within the different clans and sub clans in the district. Such conflicts are often rooted in settlements created in grazing lands commonly owned by the community. Moreover, Las Anod is perhaps one of the least developed regions in the country and such underdevelopment could form the basis on which widespread discontent within the communities and mistrust towards the state apparatus could grow. This may hence become a vehicle for violence in both the near and distant future. It is therefore the view of this report that due attention should be paid to addressing the 34