MOGADISHU, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy in Somalia, who wrapped up a two-day visit to northern Somalia late Sunday, on Monday called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the region.
Nicholas Haysom, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, who paid a visit to Puntland and Somaliland in northern Somalia, called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Tukaraq area of the contested Sool region which lies between them.
Haysom said in a statement released on Monday that he held talks with the two regional leaders where he discussed a range of issues including the contested region.
"I had the opportunity to discuss with the president (Muse Bihi Abdi of Somaliland) the recent changes in the region, the challenges facing Somaliland and of course, in that regard, we touched on the conflict in Tukaraq," Haysom said.
"In particular, how that conflict can be managed to avoid any conflagration, any eruption of hostilities in the short term, and a long-term solution for that conflict," he added during a meeting in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland.
Tension has been building in Tukaraq since January after Somaliland troops have previously clashed with Puntland Defense forces over the control of the area.
The two regional Somali states have clashed previously since 2002 over control of disputed regions in northern Somalia.
In Garowe, the capital of neighboring Puntland, where he met with its President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Haysom stressed the need for maintaining peace in Tukaraq, where forces from Puntland and Somaliland have clashed in recent months.
