UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged Somali warring-parties in northern regions to abstain from the use of force, media reports said on Wednesday. Annan has expressed concern over mounting tension between the authorities in Somaliland and Puntland over claims to the Sool region.

These reached a head last month when Puntland’s militia took control of the Sool regional capital, Las Anod. He has called on both administrations to seek a solution through political dialogue, and has told them to protect their civilian populations.

Somaliland is located in northwestern Somalia, while Puntland is situated in the northeast. Sool region falls geographically within the borders of pre-independence British Somaliland.

When Somaliland seceded from the rest of Somalia in 1991, it claimed that Sool was part of its territory. When Puntland established its autonomous regional administration in 1997, it counter-claimed that most of the clans in the disputed region were associated with clans from its territory.

UN chief has also called on all Somali faction leaders to reach agreement on national reconciliation that would put an end to all the fighting and bloodshed in the country.

Somali clan-based leaders are currently attending the year-old peace talks in Kenya. But, the talks have been obstructed by disputes over issues such as the number of participants in the negotiations, the selection and number of future parliamentarians and proposed transitional charter.

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Somalia’s press freedom day, Jan. 21, has been honored in Mogadishu, the capital, media reports said on Wednesday. Representatives from Mogadishu’s media associations, human rights organizations and civil society groups as well as prominent individuals and journalists have taken party in the ceremony to recognize the importance of the event.

It is reported that participants have exchanged their views on the role of media in restoration of peace and reconstruction of the country. They also deliberated on the future of the country’s freedom of the press.

Ahmed Abdisalam Adan, the director of HornAfrik radio, a local FM radio and television station based in the capital, spoke of how very difficult it is for Somali journalists to work in a country where there has been no law and order for over 13 years. Exactly a year ago, the station itself was attacked by armed militiamen acting on orders of a businessman who had been offended by a news report about a book mentioning connections between Somali businessmen and terrorism.

Only government-owned mass media was allowed to operate in Somalia at the time of the military regime led by dictator Muhammad Siad Barre. After the downfall of the dictator in 1991, several independent newspapers, radio and television stations have been established, largely by journalists.

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At least three passengers were killed and seven others wounded when their truck was ambushed by gunmen in the Middle Shabelle region, HornAfrik radio reported on Wednesday.

The armed militias, based in the village of Nurdugle, opened fire on the truck after an argument between the driver and the gunmen. The radio said that the truck, carrying commercial goods, had been going from Mogadishu to the central regions.

Since the collapse of the Somali government, the militias have established their own checkpoints on the roads linking the capital to the central and northern regions.

They demand money from passing vehicles. If their demands are refused, they threaten to kill drivers and their passengers.