Somaliland sun: The Somaliland flag flies high at a former Puntland military base in Boo”ame a town in the east of the country/
This follows the defection of a Keiser Barre Raage senior Puntland officer to Somaliland his home of origin who was accompanied by a number of his subordinates.
Another senior defector is a former Puntland local council officer Imaan Ali Farah who was the alleged mayor of Taleeh in the Sool region of Somaliland which Puntland lays claim to under the name of Haysimo region.
Both the former Puntland Police officer and Mayor are initially from Somaliland more specifically Sool region from where they had decamped after owing allegiance to the Somalia administrative region that borders Somaliland to the east.
The former mayor was received at Tukaraaq by a multitude of Somaliland citizens led by Sool region governor Abdiqani Mahmud Jidhe who escorted him all the way to the regional capital Las Anod.
Thanking the government and people of Somaliland for accepting him back warmly despite his years as a renegade the former local government administrator said “Brothers and sisters today is a special day for me because I now understand the saying that East or West Home is Best”
After apologizing for contravening Somaliland laws that deter citizens from owing allegiance to Somalia and its satellite administration Abdiqani Mahmud Jidhe revealed that his defection came upon ascertaining that only the republic of Somaliland guarantees his Dulbahante clan its share of rights as opposed to the lip service of his former bosses in Garowe.
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Another welcoming function was also taking place 40 kilometres from the Puntland capital of Garowe in a small town known as Boo”ame also in Sool region of Somaliland.
This time it was in a former military base occupied by Puntland whose forces were chased away by a former police officer from the region Kaiser Barre Raage and his defection colleagues all original from the Sool Region.
“Without the support of original Somaliland citizens Puntland is nothing militarily” said Colonel Kaiser Barre after he raised the Somaliland flag in the base, adding that as soon as the Garowe administrations army personnel saw his small contingent of defecting officers they absconded their positions and weaponry.
Puntland which is mainly a majeerteen clan administration lays claim to Somaliland’s eastern regions of Sanaag and Sool because of the large number of Dhulbahante and Warsengeli sub clans are members of the shared larger Harti clan.
In order to justify this claim every Puntland administration entices a ;large number of residents from Saanag and Sool regions with senior positions in Garowe among them the current Garowe based deputy president Ahmed Elmi OSman who is from Hudun district in Sool.
This claim to the country’s eastern regions which is fronted and financed by the Federal government of Somalia in Mogadishu is and remains the Achilles tendon to the Somaliland quest for international recognition as sovereign nation
The lengthily dispute has resulted in several confrontations between Somaliland forces and those from Puntland leading to deaths and injury to many not to mention damage to livelihoods due to lack of government services in the affected areas.
