By: Yusuf M Hasan
Somalilandsun- Hundreds of clan militia from Puntland have decamped to somaliland where authorities are hosting them at Badan district headquarters in Sanaag region.
The troops all from the East Sanaag residing Warsengeli clan entered Somaliland territory after absconding their posts which they manned under auspices of Garowe town commanded Puntland army.
According to sources the troops arrived in Somaliland with a lot of ordinance that includes ten technical war wagons, three artillery pieces, one anti-aircraft gun mounted vehicle, several Bazookas and 13 Armoured troop carriers.
The source who is among officers of the defecting soldiers and requesting anonymity revealed that reasons behind the unit parting ways with Puntland is related to non payment of remunerations despite being utilized mainly in the fight against Al-Shabaab militants around the Galgala mountains.
“Although we were aware of discriminatory tendencies directed our clan within the Puntland army in which we were always assigned the deadliest combat duties without regular pay the straw that broke our backs was denial of basic supplies like rations and more important bullets and fuel” said the officer.
While this is the largest number of troops to defect Puntland at a go it is not the first as exemplified by such a recent incident in which the entire law enforcement designated for the presumed Sanaag region of Puntland defected in its entirety with its commander Colonel Ahmed Saeed Mohamed aka Ahmed Gegoroor currently in Hargeisa for discussions with ministry of defense on his units assimilation into the Somaliland armed forces.
The Warsengeli clan which predominates in East Sanaag has a number of its sons serving in the armed forces of Puntland while others are senior members of the Garowe based regional administration.
Bordering the country to the East, Puntland is an administrative region of Somalia that lays claim to territorial authority of East Sanaag and Sool regions of Somaliland based on Harti clan lineage that the Majeertens share with Warsengeli and Dulbahante
