Somaliland accused of 'using force' in voter-registration

GAROWE, Somalia Jan 5 (Garowe Online) - Somalia's breakaway sub-state of Somaliland has been accused of using military force in a controversial drive to bring the voter-registration process to disputed Sool and Sanaag regions, Radio Garowe reported Monday.

Abdullahi Ali "Tima-Adde," Puntland's public works minister, issued a press statement regarding violence surrounding Somaliland's attempt to bring the voter-registration process to the disputed regions.

"The so-called voter-registration in Sool and Ayn [Buhodle] regions by the Hargeisa [Somaliland] administration is being done by using military force and propaganda," the press statement read.

Minister Tima-Adde, a native of Sool region, accused Somaliland troops of "killing unarmed civilians," saying: "The violence surrounding the voter-registration process is clear evidence of the Hargeisa administration's aggression against Sool and Ayn regions."

On Saturday, Somaliland's defense minister said two military officers were gunned down in Widh Widh, a town in Buhodle district, by local fighters.

Hargeisa-based press reports indicate that donor countries who support the voter-registration process did not allocate any funds for Sool and Sanaag, but that S omaliland leader Dahir Riyale ordered the operation and dispatched soldiers to remote towns.

Puntland claims ownership of Sool, Sanaag and Ayn – a newly created region, which falls within the borders of Togdheer region – citing kinship affiliation with native clans.

But Somaliland's leaders reject the clan ties and argue that Sool and Sanaag fall within the historical borders of the British colony of Somaliland.

The rival sub-states, located in northern Somalia, have battled over control of the disputed regions several times since 2002.