AS overruns Puntland Darawish in the wake of Tukaraq flare-ups June 1, 2018.

AS overrun PMPF base in Ballikhadar IVO Galgala village of Bosaso at 1030 pm on 01/06/2018. Puntland forces sustained heavy casualties though exact figure is yet to be established.

Onlookers confirmed about 6 battlewagons burning after AS took over full control of the base.

Galgala environs experienced similar incident during last year’s holy month of Ramadan, when AS assaulted Puntland Darawish base Af-urur.

Tukaraq flare-ups among others are believed to have added onto the already overstrained Puntland security apparatus to respond to various porous frontlines. Noticeably, IS attack on Darawish forward positions in Qandala district is one of many expected attacks by anti-government elements in the region.

In the wake of these attacks, Puntland government along with its defence forces and the tribal fighters can be expected to use the security climate to raise its political clout and demand more resources to escalate its activities in the region.

This will feed into an already-escalating proxy war with the Somaliland administration and its allied paramilitaries, putting sensitive spots like Eastern Sanaag and Bari Region at risk.

Somalireport  Anlysis