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Introduction
Shortly, before the appointment of the Chiefs of the Somaliland National Army and the Police forces. The newly elected president of Abdirahman Abdullahi Irro has paid a visit and inspected the headquarters of Somaliland’s various security institutions and promised several reforms and initiatives intending to improve the Somaliland Security Apparatus’ overall quality and efficiency. To this effect, the president has established a ministerial committee, including the ministries of Defense, the Interior, the director of the national intelligence agency, and the national security advisor among others, to reform and modernize Somaliland’s national forces[1]. Fulfilling his campaign promise, President Abdirahman Irro has issued a presidential decree for increasing the salaries of the national security forces by 50% per year, making it a 250% raise during his five-year tenure at the office, the biggest salary raise of the security forces ever[2]. The president has ordered the biometric registration of all security forces personnel and their proper registration to eliminate ghost soldiers. During his visit to the National Military headquarters, the president of Somaliland promised the army under his term would establish the air forces of the national army, if succeeded, this would be the first time that the military would have an air service since their formation in 1994, although the army have to yet establish a navy force. The president in his inspection of the army headquarters mentioned the development of the first national security strategy in the country [3].
The reform and the modernization of Somaliland security forces, including the national army, are coming at a time when the country has seen a series of security challenges and witnessed, the violent conflict in Las Anod; the provisional capital city of Sool region, the inauguration of rival administration in the country, the formation of the clan militias groups like the Sool, Sanaag, Buhodle (SSB) and G36 that stems from the army’s performance in Las Anod and the perceived sense of insecurity by the communities. The 2018 formation of militia by Arre, then a general of Somaliland national army forces has underlined the problems that the national army forces are confronting. It exposed the lack of professionalism of the officer corps of the military and its involvement in politics. For decades, although the institution has only recently in 2023, seen the passing of the Somaliland National Military Act by the country’s parliament, to define the proper role of the national army and enhance the development of norms, rules, and procedures, that are expected to contribute to improving the professionalism of the military. The national army has been grappling with challenges of professionalism, organizational development, and the regularization of entry, promotion, and retirement procedures of the army services.
The particulars of these reforms and their targeted outcomes remain a fact to be seen yet. These initiatives and reform calls are steps in the right direction, but the need for their rigors and areas of priority cannot be stressed enough. This article will essentially focus on, the Somaliland National Army forces. It will particularly emphasize the aspects that the proposed reforms and expected initiatives to enhance the army forces’ efficiencies ought to highlight. Considering the foundational responsibility of this institution for state survival and the preeminent role of these responsibilities, it is incumbent on the new administration of Abdirahman Irro and the new government to put forward a comprehensive plan to reform and modernize the Somaliland army with the long-term aims of laying the ground foundation for the development of a force that fit the purpose. To avoid a haphazard reform the government should priorities the issues that are pressing and distinguish from areas that can wait later by being realistic, practical, and focusing on what is urgent.
The Areas for The National Army Reform
From their establishment on 2 February 1994, with the first two regiments that were drawn out of the civilian and clan milia disarmament and reintegration process during the late President Mohammed H. Ibrahim Egal’s administration, and the remanent of Somali military officers; in which some of them belong to Somali National Movement fighters, that fought against Siad Barre regime. Ever since their formation, the Somaliland National Army forces have played an instrumental role in solidifying Somaliland’s control of its territory particularly in the peripheries where government presence was not as effective as it was in the center. Until May 1997, with the move of the 17th regiment of the national army from Darer-Wayne military school to their new post in Oog town the Somaliland National Army forces particularly in eastern regions, their presences were confined to Buroa, the capital city of the Togdheer region and the country’s second capital. These have paved the way for consolidating Somaliland’s state authority in the rest of the country, it saw the establishment of Somaliland authority in localities like Yagoori, Waa-dhako, Sama-kaab, Adhi-cadeye, Af-madow, Fiqi fuliye, and Yube of the Togdher, Sanaag, and Sool regions, among other places. Somaliland National Army has aided the national police forces and other security apparatus when needed in upholding law and order in the country and was deployed in various clan and communal conflicts, it was mobilized to participate in securing the overall security of the elections, as the last year’s elections in Somaliland elucidates.
Organizationally, the national army has formed divisions in all of the country’s provinces. With the inception of the first division of 31st based on Hargeisa, it has expanded to the rest of the country. The army has set out two commands; the Eastern command based in Burao, and the Western command located in Borama in Awdal region. The education and training of its officers and recruits have seen expansion and growth. Despite the quality of the curriculums and the contents of its education. Assuming the helm of the training division, Major General Ismail Shaqalle, after the formation of the Somaliland National Army has inaugurated the three military training schools of the Sheikh, Darer-Wayne, and Goroyo-awl military schools[4], with the purpose of training and disciplining of the new forces. Later four more schools, including the only military college of Abdullahi Askar, which was constituted on September 14, 2013, were added, making the total of the military schools of the Somaliland National Army Forces seven[5]. The national army forces have yet to have the complete institutions of professional military education including staff and command colleges and war and defense universities[6]. The absence of such institutions hampers the force’s professionalization and limits it is education and learning.
War and violence are human features, that can be deterred by preparedness and improve the margins of success in the event of it is occurrence through a lifetime dedication to learning and experience. It is a profession like law or medicine. Light, mobile, and joint units are the direction that military organizations are heading underpinned by it is sutibility of the nature of threats they tackling. As a patient or client will not trust his case by an untrained lawyer, so should an institution be trusted with the responsibility of state’s military security policy for an institution that does not have the capability and required skills to discharge this task?
According to the seminal work of The State and the Soldier, the American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington has remarked that the modern national military officers and their institution have the three primary responsibilities of representation, advisory, and execution. This organ, which is subordinate to the civilian statesmen that are in charge of state affairs has the functional responsibility of representing this institution on matters that relate to resource allocations, they also provide advice from their military vantage point on the matters that concern the area of the military and share the president the military options of the policy issues that the administration is contemplating and their suitability considering the capability of the army to fulfill it and lastly they execute orders once the statesmen decree it[7]. The current state of affairs of the army following it is pushback from Las Anod and their performance, which subsequently saw the formation of clan militias, the pervasive use of social media platforms by the army members; that compromise army positions and make it vulnerable for easy identifications, and other cases that predate those episodes, include the military’s former officers that involved the establishment of militia like general Aare in 2018 and the arrest and trial of colonel Doolal in which the during Muse Bihi’s administration was accused to have contact with Somalia and sentenced in two-year prison by military court in 2021, though the president have pardoned him shortly. Those issues have underscored the army’s extent of political involvement and its ill-preparedness to discharge its military responsibility. The army is an institution with the essential duty to defend the state’s existence from internal and external threats including other armies. It is an institution that is in charge of managing violence.
Somaliland National Army forces have come a long way with meager resources and institutional constraints and have a long journey to go to become forces that fit the purpose of it is duties. Taking into consideration the magnitude of the challenges that Somaliland National Army forces are confronting, this reform proposal could not have come any better time. The education of the officer corps of the army must be given a particular place. It can start by creating strong civil-military relations, developing the professionalism of the military troops and allocating the necessary resources for these matters, and subordinating of military to civilians and statesmen who are representative of the state. This organ serves the leadership of the organization and the connecting tissues that link the civilian statesmen and the ranks, and the files of the army. The investment of their educations will instill in the army an ethos of military professionalism and discipline. The new administration can focus its reforms on education that emphasizes the essential skills of military science, history, and the art of war, strategy, tactics, and operations which are the prerequisites for the development of the skills that are paramount for the military profession. Where it is possible it should include foreign languages, with particular attention being given to the ones that are widely spoken in the region.
The Somaliland National Army forces have for decades grappled with the challenges that relate to force entry, promotion, and retirement. The proposals for reforms must tackle these problems. Emphasis must be placed on the recruitment and enlisting of officers who possess the necessary skills. Currently, literacy and formal education are not requirements for entry into the services, an understandable situation considering the institution’s formation after the Somali state collapse and Somaliland’s unilateral withdrawal of Somali unity and it is reclamation of sovereignty. The situation has changed, and the army needs to adjust and reflect. Making a concerted effort to attract a pool of talented skills that can contribute to the effectiveness of the institution. The reforms should target strengthening and regularizing the promotion of officers. Since the introduction of the ranks in 2013, officer promotion has been an area that needs further development, the Abdullahi Askar military college, shortly instituted after the introduction of ranks with the mandate for evaluating the quality of the officers should be empowered, placing more emphasis on merit, service time and exams as the basis for promotion. Retirement and pension system is another dimension the reform initiatives must focus on, the Somaliland National Army Act was adopted in 2023, and its implementation will be a good start. The reforms should overhaul the army’s entry, recruitment, promotion, and retirement procedures. The introduction of the age limit of the army service is paramount for injecting new blood into the army equipped with important skills and pensioning officers who are no longer capable of serving in the army and therefore retired.
Somaliland’s military is also operating in a volatile security landscape of the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea arena. The return of great power competitions between the United States and China, in which the latter started engaging with Somaliland on security matters and eyeing to have a military installation in Somaliland’s Berbera city[8], Somaliland’s ties with Taiwan that puts on the radar of China, which draws to Somaliland into broader US and China competitions situates Somaliland in a very security complex environment. The improvement of the army’s officer corps overall education is necessary for mitigating the potential security risks that Somaliland faces. The threats of the terrorist militant groups and the persistent problems of terrorism, which in decades have proven resilient and potent are aspects that call for close cooperation with other states and constant investment in know-how and training of the armed forces to deal swiftly if needed. The Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group of Al–Shabab that is active in the region poses a threat to Somaliland as have been proved by their attack of 2008. The growing security role of Gulf monarchies, Türkiye, and other extra-regional powers in the Horn of Africa’s security and defense matters as far as national military security is concerned requires attention. The Türkiye’s security and economic cooperation agreement with Somalia, which promised the development, training, and equipping Somalia’s navy capability, and the growing Egyptian role in Somalia’s security and defense field and the former’s military agreement with Somalia are potential concerns for Somaliland’s security considering Somalia’s claim of Somaliland as part of it.
In conclusion, the reforms should prioritize the areas of professionalism of the military and their education, regularization of the recruitment, promotion, and retirement, and development of the necessary skills for the initiation of mitigation strategies for managing the adverse effects of the Horn of Africa security developments. The meager resource limitations and the vast areas for reform and improvement precipitate that the government must be selective in it is reform, guided by the long-term objectives of having a force that fits its mission. It is prudent that reforms should be realistic, and tailored to the force’s needs and what is possible in this conjunction. For decades, Somaliland has enjoyed close cooperation with neighboring states like Ethiopia; many leaders of the army have acquired advanced military training in command, staff, and war colleges of Ethiopia, Djibouti which units of Somaliland security have gone for training, and the new ties that Somaliland has established with Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates with the promise to contribute to the army’s capability needs to materialize and strengthened. The development of the Red Sea arena, the growing interests of many states in this area, and their involvement in the matters of the Red Sea arena call for attention. The potential negative effects this entails also make the national army reform initiatives a call at the right moment. The army and the modernization efforts need to make strives to acquire essential knowledge to develop the necessary mitigating strategies to lessen its advent effects that concern military security.
References
The Soldier and the State — Harvard University Press. (n.d.). Harvard University Press. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674817364
Africa Center for Strategic Studies. (2022). Professional military education institutions
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Olander, E. (2024, December 13). Why some African countries welcome Trump’s return to power. The China-Global South Project. https://chinaglobalsouth.com/podcasts/why-some-african-countries-welcome-trumps-return-to-power/
CBA TV. (2025, January 18). Madaxweyne Cirro oo tagay Taliska Guud ee Ciidanka Qaranka Somaliland [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5la65cBUmLA
SAAB TV. (2025, January 25). Guddiga Dib-u-dhiska iyo Casriyaynta Ciidamada, Qaranka oo la magacaabay [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpnQPhhUGQw
MM Somali TV. (2025, January 22). Madaxweynaha Somaliland oo mushaharkii u kordhiyay Ciidamada. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1VTkmNIV0A
[1] SAAB TV. (2025, January 25). Guddiga Dib-u-dhiska iyo Casriyaynta Ciidamada, Qaranka oo la magacaabay [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpnQPhhUGQw
[2] MM Somali TV. (2025, January 22). Madaxweynaha Somaliland oo mushaharkii u kordhiyay Ciidamada. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1VTkmNIV0A
[3] CBA TV. (2025, January 18). Madaxweyne Cirro oo tagay Taliska Guud ee Ciidanka Qaranka Somaliland [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5la65cBUmLA
[4] HORYAAL TV. (2022, March 17). Maalmihii Qadhaadhaa Ee Ismaaciil Shaqale Taliyihii Hore Ciidanka Qaranka | Qaybtii 4 Aad [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmrvEYukZ-Q
[5] Faysal Fifa. (2022, February 2). Sareeye Gaas Nuux Taani taliyaha ciidanka qaranka S/land oo ka sheekeeyay horumarka ciidanku gaadhe [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjlA6CP0Fv8
[6] Africa Center for Strategic Studies. (2022). Professional military education institutions in Africa. https://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/African-PMIs.pdf
[7] The Soldier and the State — Harvard University Press. (n.d.). Harvard University Press. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674817364
[8] Olander, E. (2024, December 13). Why some African countries welcome Trump’s return to power. The China-Global South Project. https://chinaglobalsouth.com/podcasts/why-some-african-countries-welcome-trumps-return-to-power/
About the Author:
Sacad Muhumed is a researcher specializing in critical security studies, focusing on governance and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. He holds an MA from Addis Ababa University and is pursuing a second master’s degree at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.