BOSSASO, Somalia Oct 28 (Garowe Online) - The president of Somalia's semiautonomous state of Puntland, Gen. Adde Muse, has reportedly authorized government officials to "prepare" security forces for an upcoming war with Somaliland, a neighboring region that aspires for independence.

Sources privy to the plan confidentially told Garowe Online that Puntland government officials have been holding secret meetings in the Gulf of Aden port of Bossaso.

Officials decided to establish several committees as part of preparations for the war, including a fund-raising committee.

Somaliland, which unilaterally declared independence in 1991, claims legal ownership of Sool and Sanaag regions under defunct colonial-era boundaries.

In October 2007, Somaliland troops captured the Sool provincial capital of Las Anod after a bitter battle with Puntland security forces.

Puntland leader Gen. Muse has rejected political pressure to retake Las Anod by military force since.

It is not clear why the Puntland government wants to wage war against Somaliland now, especially with the region's  presidential elections slated for January.

On Tuesday, two Puntland presidential candidates jointly issued a press statement in the capital Garowe calling for the establishment of a nonpartisan election commission.

The candidates – Mr. Mohamed Abdi Nur and ex-Fisheries Minister Ahmed Said O'Nur – called for the Puntland government to establish a security force to oversee the elections.

Earlier this month, Puntland opposition leader Abdirahman Farole appealed for the establishment of an independent election commission and warned the Muse administration against efforts to "delay the elections"  by waging war on Somaliland.

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Source: Garowe Online