LAS ANOD, Somaliland, 8 April, 2007 – The Puntland-appointed police commander of Sool region defected to the rival country of Somaliland on Sunday, officials here said.

Col. Mohamed Hussein Abtiile surrendered himself to Somaliland soldiers near Ari'adeye village, where the two forces stand opposite each other on disputed land.

The commander was joined by at least four loyal soldiers driving two police cars when he defected over to Somaliland.

Sources in the Puntland capital, Garowe, told Garowe Online that Col. Abtiile's defection came as a result of a dispute with Vice President Hassan Dahir Afqura, who is also from Sool region.

The nature of the dispute could not be confirmed, but local police have not been paid in the last 10 months, according to one finance ministry official who did not wish to be named.

Puntland considers itself an integral part of federal Somalia, while Somaliland seeks international recognition as an independent country.

The two sub-states fought several times over the disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag, and the village of Ari'adeye has become the center of their border conflict.

Soldiers from Somaliland and Puntland have surrendered to opposite camps in the past. But the Sool regional police commander's defection comes at a sensitive time when two local clans fought a bloody battle near the Sool-Nugaal border.

Source: Garowe Online News