Ayn is region in the autonomous northeastern Puntland

Puntland

Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....

 macro-region of Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

. It is a disputed southeastern section of the Togdheer

Togdheer

Togdheer is an administrative region in northwestern Somalia. It lies in the territory of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.-Overview:...

 region defined and claimed by Puntland.

Since 1991, the area has also been claimed by the secessionist Somaliland

Somaliland

Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...

 macro-region in northwestern Somalia. According to the Somaliland administration, Ayn, centered on the town of Buuhoodle

Buuhoodle

Buhoodle or Buuhoodle is the capital of the Ayn region in northern Somalia. It is disputed between Somaliland, Puntland and HBM-SSC , a local unionist group whose goal is the creation of its own regional administration .-History:Buuhoodle is an historical city...

, is part of the original boundaries of the former British Somaliland

British Somaliland

British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...

, and the Ayn territory claimed by Puntland remains part of the Togdheer

Togdheer

Togdheer is an administrative region in northwestern Somalia. It lies in the territory of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.-Overview:...

 region. Somaliland disputes the territorial claims of Puntland, which wrote the claim on the portion of Togdheer into the latter's 1998 charter.

See also

• Puntland–Somaliland dispute
• Regions of Somalia
  Regions of Somalia
  Somalia is officially divided into eighteen administrative regions , which in turn are subdivided into districts. On a de facto basis, northern Somalia is now divided up among the autonomous states of Puntland and Somaliland...
  
  
• Regions of Somaliland
  Regions of Somaliland
  Between March 22 and May 15, 2008 the Somaliland President Dahir Riyale Kahin with a presidential press statement announced the creation of six new regions and 16 new districts....
  
  
• 2010 Ayn clashes
  2010 Ayn clashes
  The 2010 Ayn clashes saw Ethiopian and Somaliland forces engage Dulbahante clan militia in Puntland's Ayn region in a bid to reconquer the region ahead of the Somaliland presidential election, 2010...
  
  
• Northern Somali Unionist Movement (NSUM)
  Northern Somali Unionist Movement (NSUM)
  -Overview:The Northern Somali Unionist Movement is a Somali organization that was formed in 1991, by Mr Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud and whose members and supporters hail from Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions in the Northern regions of Somalia...
  
  
• SSC Somalia
  SSC Somalia
  SSC refers to the Sool Sanaag Cayn regions, and their capital cities Lasanod, Ceerigaabo and Buuhoodle. Lasanod is the administrative capital of SSC Somalia regions of Somalia...