Tension rising in north

Tension is rising between the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the neighbouring self-declared autonomous region of Puntland over the disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag, local sources told IRIN on Tuesday. Puntland forces took total control of the Sool regional capital, Las Anod, last week. Hitherto, both sides had official representation in the town. According to the sources, the Puntland troops were led by the commander of the Puntland police force, Col Abdirazzaq Mahmud Yusuf. Puntland spokesman Awad Ahmad Ashara told IRIN that the forces had gone to Las Anod "to stop fighting between two feuding clans in the area". The move came after the Somaliland House of Representatives on 21 December called on the government to secure Somaliland's borders. According to a local journalist in Bosaso, the Puntland commercial capital, "this was seen here [Puntland] as an attempt by Somaliland to assert its authority over the two regions". Sool and Sanaag fall geographically within the borders of pre-independence British Somaliland, but most of the clans there are associated with Puntland. These are the Warsangeli and the Dhulbahante, which, along with Majerteen - the main clan in Puntland - form the Harti sub-group of the Darood. Ashara said it was normal for the Puntland authorities to send police forces to the area "since both regions are part and parcel of Puntland". "The people in these regions consider themselves as part of Puntland," he said, adding that Puntland wanted peace and stability in the area "and wants to solve everything through dialogue and peaceful means". Sources in the Somaliland capital, Hargeysa, told IRIN that the authorities had dispatched "combat-ready" troops to Sool region. "Somaliland is very serious in wanting to secure its borders, and these include the borders of Sool and Sanaag," said a local journalist. "They are determined to resolve this issue once and for all." Meanwhile, the Somaliland-government daily 'Mandeeq', reported on Tuesday that people were fleeing from Las Anod town in fear of fighting between the advancing Somaliland forces and those of Puntland. Attempts by IRIN to contact the Somaliland government for comment were unsuccessful. Humanitarian agencies recently delivered food to thousands of drought-affected nomads in the Sool Plateau, which is within the disputed regions. A humanitarian source told IRIN that "any conflict in that area will complicate an already precarious humanitarian situation". "We urge the authorities on both sides to resolve any differences peacefully and continue to enable humanitarian agencies to deliver assistance to the drought-affected communities", said Calum McLean, head of UNOCHA-Somalia.