There are so many things going wrong in Puntland today that everybody has a favorite line or an example of what went wrong. Here is mine. I have been struggling to understand the irony that Puntland, only few months ago was unable to defend itself from an attack deep into its territory by forces from Hargeisa, yet it somehow miraculously was capable of sending thousands of troops, arsenal, money and other logistical support across a foreign country into an armed conflict taking place thousands of kilometers away. How did they do it?
For example, few months ago a heavily armed force from Hargeisa attacked and captured the town of Dahar, located at the heart of Puntland about 30 km west of Gardho and the highway that is the lifeline of Puntland.
The truth is the army of Hargeisa was perfectly capable to march 30 km east to the city of Gardho, rattle its residents and cut off the highway. Doing so, even for few hours, would have been a dramatic victory for them and a devastating blow to the psyche of Puntland and its people. Although its action was half hearted at best, Hargeisa made its point very clear. No place in Puntland is far from its reach. Hostile troops are camped out 25 km from Las Anod, and everybody knows how close Galkayo came to fall into the hands of Islamic courts late last year.
for full story on how somaliland beat puntland
http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/pub ... ment.shtml
