ISSA REBELS CLASH WITH SOMALILAND TROOPS- 10 Aug 95

(SWB 12 Aug 95 [RFI in French, 10 Aug 95])The Jibuti army has this morning been put on alert along the country' s border with the self- proclaimed Republic of Somaliland. The Jibuti authorities fear a flare- up of clashes between the Somaliland army and the Issa militias of the United Somalia Front [untraced; in French: Front de la Somalie Unifiee]. Yesterday the militias attacked the locality of Barisle, less than five kilometres from the border. According to Radio Hargeisa, two soldiers and nine militiamen were killed. The Issa rebels admit to five deaths from among their ranks and say that 31 soldiers were killed. Our reporter is Abdi Aden:[Aden] Today the Somaliland soldiers and the Issa rebels are facing each other at Tokhoshi, some 20 km from the Jibuti border, and fighting is likely to flare up anew.The reason for the fighting is to see who can win control of a nine- square- kilometre area claimed by Issa nomads, who are also demanding regional autonomy based on the Boorama charter. The charter is supposed to regulate intertribal affairs in Somaliland. The government of Muhammad Ibrahim Egal does not see things that way, however. He wants to set up an administration which, he says, will represent the three main tribes that live in this area bordering on Jibuti. The tribes in question are the Issa, the Gadaboursy and the Issaq. The Somaliland Issas have categorically rejected this formula, which they suspect is a ploy to manoeuvre them out of the Somaliland political arena.Jibuti, for its part, has put its troops along the border with Somaliland on a state of alert in order to prevent any fighting from spilling over the border.Abdi Aden in Jibuti for RFI.