The clashes erupted after Shiine Yasin Xin Finin, Fiqi Fuliye district's police chief, was gunned down near Eergabo district earlier in the day, according to residents.
''Shiine Yasin died after being shot in the head in Eergabo. He was assassinated around 7pm local time. The police chased the men and exchanged gunfire, but the men escaped. Two civilians were injured and one is in serious condition,'' Ali Abdi Hurre, the Chairman of Sanaag Region Somaliland, told Somalia Report.
The fighting allegedly broke out two hours later as a result of the assassination.
“The fighting broke out at 9:00pm (local time) and seems to be spreading into the city where a freelance militia is trying resist a hundred troops from the Somaliland administration," Eergabo resident Ahmed Nur told Somalia Report.
"We believe this fighting was in revenge for the killing of Jama Ahmed Ali, a officer of Daallo police station, in Eergabo who was killed in August," added Mr. Ali.
Eergabo, the regional capital of Sanaag and divided in two, hosts two major clans, the Harti sub-clan (Dhulhante and Warsangeli )and Isaack, which continually fight each other. Their new tactics, officials say, is to target officials from the other clan.
''Yes, they are hunting elders, officers, and businessmen between the Dulhanate and Isaaq clans. We fear that fighting and targetting well-known people among these clans might spread from urban locations to pastoral areas. That will be very risky,'' said Ahmed Awad Farah, a traditional leader in Eergabo.
The control of Fiqi Fuliye is disputed between the self-declared Republic of Somaliland and its neighboring semi-autonomous state of Puntland. Disputes and between Puntland and Somaliland administrations over the control of Sool, Sanaag and Ceyn regions have increased in recent years.