Renewed clashes in Puntland likely

Residents of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, are bracing for renewed fighting between the forces of Col Abdullahi Yusuf and those of his rival for the area's presidency, Jama Ali Jama, a local reporter told IRIN on Wednesday.

Early on Wednesday, a force of at least 1,000 militiamen and 31 pick-up trucks mounted with heavy weapons, called "technicals", left Bosaso, commercial capital of Puntland and the current seat of the Abdullahi Yusuf administration, on their way to Qardo, some 240 km south of Bosaso, said Abdinasir Mire Adan, of the Bosaso-based Midnimo radio. Qardo is Jama's stronghold.

The deployment follows the failure of the mediation efforts of the Bosaso elders between the two sides, businessmen there said. “Basically the elders could not bridge the gap between the two," one businessman said.

Yusuf's forces are said to have set up base in Jurille 60 km north of Qardo, while Jama's forces are dug in some 40 km north of the town.
"Only 20 km separates the two forces, and the likelihood of clashes is imminent," Abdinasir said. "Abdullahi Yusuf is determined to capture Qardo and clear the Bosaso-Garowe for good."

Jama Ali Jama's supporters have reportedly moved "a very large" number of militias to the mountainous area to confront attacks Yusuf’s forces, a reporter in Garowe, the regional capital, told IRIN. Controversy over Puntland's leadership has been increasingly vocal since June 2001 when Yusuf, whose term ended then, claimed that parliament had extended his mandate.
A number of Puntland's traditional elders, meeting in Garowe in July 2001, rejected his claim to an extended mandate and named Yusuf Haji Nur, Puntland's former chief justice, as "acting president" until the election of a new administration.

The elders then convened a general congress in August and, on 14 November 2001, and elected Jama Ali to a three-year term in the hope that this would end the leadership wrangles.