Puntland Commander Defects to Somaliland - Official

Garowe, Somalia, 10 December 2007 - A Puntland military officer and loyal soldiers defected to authorities in neighboring Somaliland, the separatist region's defense minister said Sunday.

Abdillahi Ali Ibrahim told reporters in the Somaliland capital Hargeysa that Col. Yusuf Quje and 30 soldiers armed with three battlewagons surrendered over to the Somaliland military stationed in Sool region.

Col. Quje was a Puntland commander in Sool until his defection, which was confirmed by Puntland government officials.

Politicians, military officers and soldiers commonly switch loyalties throughout Somalia. In Sool region, members of the local clan switch alliances between Somaliland and Puntland, depending on present conditions.

The defecting colonel "escaped with cash," according to Puntland government sources who spoke with Garowe Online.

The money Col. Quje escaped with was intended to be salary for troops under his command, the sources added.

Both the semiautonomous region of Puntland and the self-declared independent republic of Somaliland claim ownership over Sool region and fought several times over the unofficial border since 2002.

Somaliland troops took control of the Sool provincial capital Las Anod in October after battling Puntland soldiers, who later retreated eastward.

The separatist region of Somaliland has not been recognized internationally, although the region has an elected government and enjoys relative peace uncommon in most of Somalia.

But many people worry that Somaliland's armed takeover of Las Anod might ignite a clan war reminiscent of the 1990s civil war in south Somalia.

In other news, the Somaliland defense minister said a vehicle owned by a Puntland civilian was returned to its rightful owner after the robbers drove the vehicle into Somaliland territory.

Source: Garowe Online