Disputed regions "non-issue" for Puntland

The disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag are part of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland and therefore not an issue to be discussed with another party, a senior Puntland official told IRIN on Monday.

"The people of Sool and Sanaag have decided they are part of Puntland, and for us that is it," said Isma'il Warsame, Abdullahi Yusuf's chief of cabinet. Warsame said Puntland President Abdullahi Yusuf had "no immediate plans to visit the regions, but can do so anytime he wants as the leader of Puntland".

"As far as Puntland is concerned this is a non-issue," he added.

The regions which fall geographically within the borders of the former British Somaliland, but where most of the clans are associated with Puntland, are claimed by both Puntland and the self-declared republic of Somaliland.

Warsame told IRIN that relations with Somaliland were normal. Both parties were interested in good neighbourliness and the economic and security interests of both sides "make it imperative that we keep our relations cordial".

Meanwhile, a police raid last week on the offices of a local NGO, Ocean Training Programme (OTP), in the Puntland commercial capital, Bosaso, had been a routine investigation into "anti-Puntland activities", Warsame said.

According to local sources, the police "detained five staff members and took away computers". While admitting to the detentions and the confiscation of equipment, Warsame said that "all the staff have already been released and the equipment will be returned once an investigation into their activities is completed."

According to Warsame, the NGO had "involved itself in politics, and played a part in the destabilisation of Puntland". The NGO had been accused of supporting Jama Ali Jama, Abdullahi Yusuf's rival for the Puntland presidency, local sources told IRIN.

Attempts by IRIN to contact OTP for comment were unsuccessful.