Friday October 31, 2025
Garowe (HOL) — Puntland authorities have reportedly halted
salary and food payments to troops stationed in the Sool and Cayn regions after
those areas aligned with the newly declared Northeastern Federal Member State,
deepening tensions within Somalia’s most politically divided region.
Sources familiar with the matter said the decision came in
response to growing frustration in Garowe after some officers and soldiers in
Sool and Cayn pledged allegiance to the emerging regional administration and
refused to take orders from Puntland’s command structure.
Among those affected are forces previously loyal to former
Puntland Vice President Ahmed Karaash, a key political figure credited with
playing a major role in forming the Northeastern administration.
The unpaid troops, according to sources, recently met with
Puntland Vice President Ilyas Lugatoor—who hails from the Sool region—to appeal
for the reinstatement of their salaries and food rations. They said they have
gone without pay or supplies for three months and warned they may take
unspecified action, including blocking key roads, if their demands go
unanswered.
The move comes amid wider political and military friction in
Puntland, where the regional government has also suspended the pay and support
of a Danab special forces unit led by Gen. Jimcaale Jama Takar, who is accused
of maintaining ties with Somalia’s Federal Government in Mogadishu.
The escalating dispute highlights the growing fragmentation
of authority in northern Somalia and the strain between Puntland’s leadership
and forces aligned with rival political factions.