The recently selected president of the Puntland Federal State of Somalia, Saeed Abdullahi Deni, Tuesday, called the areas he headed to ‘defend their territories and integrity’ against what he called ‘increased’ Somaliland military maneuvers ‘into Puntland’.
“These past few days there were military movements and fresh aggression the Hargeisa administration aimed to encroach into Puntland territories. The people of Puntland had shown infinite tolerance in the past in deference and respect to regional peace but maneuvers have increased, instead,” Deni said.
“I, herein, call the people of Puntland to protect their integrity and defend their people and land,” he said.
The President did not stop there but vowed that “anybody who invades Puntland will encounter the full wrath of what he sought out’.
The president was referring to a movement the Third-Base divisions of Somaliland in the Sanaag region made to counter frequent forays, looting and pillaging deserters of the Somaliland army, led by an ex-lieutenant colonel, were of recent making in the area. the renegade units were making their raids from a ‘base’ Puntland has given them near Qardho.
Puntland has not only provided Arre, who now dons a Somalia general’s rank, an operational base but it has been providing him logistics, surveillance and ordnance support to him since mid-2018.
The Somaliland military established a forward, operations base at Yube, less than 40 miles to the east of Erigavo, the capital of Sanaag – the largest region of Somaliland proper.
Somaliland accuses the successive Puntland administrations of aiding subversive elements that threatened regional peace in order to consolidate its claims on territories that historically, politically and nationally came under the old, internationally demarcated British Protectorate of Somaliland, presently the Republic of Somaliland.
