LATEST NEWS: Shows that Puntland is now under control, this...

LATEST NEWS: Shows that Puntland is now under control, this print is contrary to other information posted by some extremists here that wnat to make people panic and sell stock for cheap.....

Somalia: Puntland in control of disputed town
3 Oct 3, 2007 - 6:20:08 PM



LAS ANOD, Somalia Oct 3 (Garowe Online) - Somalia's semiautonomous region of Puntland is in full control of a disputed town which was the scene of heavy battles two days ago.

Puntland police and troops were roaming city streets Wednesday in Las Anod, capital of Sool region, which is claimed by both Puntland and the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Puntland officials invited journalists to Las Anod to show that the city was peaceful and that business had returned to normal.

Somaliland's defense minister, Abdullahi Ali Ibrahim, claimed yesterday that Somaliland troops had effectively taken control of Las Anod.

Mohamud Bile, our correspondent in the Puntland capital Garowe, today traveled by road to Las Anod, 120km west.

He reported that both the southern and northern checkpoints of town were manned by Puntland security forces. He said local Puntland officials were working from their Las Anod offices.

The BBC Somali Service's Puntland correspondent, who visited Las Anod today, reported that the city remains under Puntland control, but said there are a few pro-Somaliland clan militias in the western part of town.

But he reported that the militias do not wield enough force to challenge the Puntland presence.

Somaliland claims the region of Sool as part of colonial-era boundaries, which it bases its bid for independence. But Puntland leaders claim that Sool belongs to Puntland because of clan ties.

Source: Garowe Online