An estimated company sized contingent of troops from Puntland have decamped to the republic of Somaliland.
The defectors whose bulk is currently camped at the Hengalool district headquarters in Sanaag region are led by Colonel Ahmed Saeed Mohamed aka Ahmed Gegoroor who left his troops their while he proceeded for meetings with Somalilamd officIals in Erigavo town.
The colonel who spearheaded the defection is the designated commander of security for the allegedly Sanaag region region of Puntland, a Somalia administrative region to the east of Somaliland.
While reasons behind the defection by such a heavily armed and large contingent of soldiers from Puntland is yet to be divulged, Col Ahmed Gegoror is headed for the capital Hargeisa under the charge of Sanaag regional governor Ahmed Abdi Jama ‘Falay’ and his police commander presumably for discussions with Somaliland officials.
In the meantime the deputy speaker of parliament Bashe Mohamed Farah has urged Somaliland authorities and citizens to accommodate the defectors humanely .
Deputy speaker of Somaliland parliament Bashe Mohamed FarahSince Abdilahi Gaas ascended to the presidency in Garowe defections to Somaliland and strikes by his troops is in the increase latest being the recent funny incident in which the driver of his Vice President Abdihakin Amey absconded to Somaliland with Amey’s private car subsequently returned.
Puntland and Somaliland are embroiled in a conflict that might lead to armed warfare due to claims by Puntland authorities in Garowe who claim juridical ions authority over some parts of eastern Somaliland.
The surprising claim that continues to bog down the Somaliland quest for international recognition as a sovereign nation is ironic considering the fact that the disputed area is deep inside Somaliland territorial jurisdiction as per land demarcation and subsequent maps drawn over a century ago by the United Kingdom and Italy the former colonial master of the then British Somaliland and Italian Somalia.
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