Worried by Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi's bid to get the US to recognise his government as independent from Somalia, some clan leaders have hired advisors, The political and diplomatic battle between the federal government of Somalia and Somaliland has been given an unusual twist. Washington lobbyists, Von Batten-Montague-York, led by the improbably-named Republican consultant Karl-Marx von Batten, have been hired by the clan leaders of the Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn, all contested areas of Somaliland.