Troop build-up creates tension in Sool

Tension is rising in the disputed Sool region of the self-declared republic of Somaliland as forces of Somaliland and those of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland deploy in the area, a local journalist told IRIN on Monday.

Abdinasir Mire Adan of the Bosaso-based Radio Midnimo (Puntland) said the Somaliland authorities had deployed a force of 450 men at the village of Yagori, some 60km north of the Sool regional capital, Las Anood.

The region which falls geographically within the borders of the former British Somaliland, but where most of the clans are associated with Puntland, is claimed by both Puntland and Somaliland.

The deployment of the force is part of the Somaliland administration's initiative to assert control over the area and win the support of the clans in the eastern parts of Somaliland, sources in the Somaliland capital, Hargeysa, told IRIN.

"They are working with the Dhulbahante clan sympathetic to Somaliland to win over the population", the sources added.

The Puntland governor of Sool region, Ahmed Abdullahi Hassan, who is currently in Las Anood, has confirmed the presence of the Somaliland forces, and accused them of destabilising the region and "trying to divide the Harti clan", according to Abdinasir.

The Harti brings together the Dhulbahante and the Warsangali, who live in the Sool and Sanaag regions of eastern Somaliland, and the Majeerteen, which is the main clan in Puntland.

Area elders are reportedly engaged in mediation efforts to remove the Somaliland forces peacefully. "They have so far failed to get them to leave," Abdinasir said.

Puntland forces in Sool have now been mobilised to defend Las Anood if the Somaliland forces attack, he told IRIN. Abdinasir said it was unlikely that Puntland forces would launch attacks. He said they would probably await the outcome of the elders' mediation attempts.

"There is no attack imminent, but the area is very tense and unless one side backs down, there is a good possibility of clashes," sources in Somaliland warned.