Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — Somalia said Sunday it had arrested four people shown in a video wearing military uniforms and desecrating the US flag, as Washington welcomed the action but warned that anti-American acts could damage bilateral relations.
“All individuals involved in the incident involving the misuse of the National Armed Forces uniform and the disrespect of the United States flag have been apprehended,” Somalia’s defence ministry said in a statement.
The ministry identified four detainees and published their photographs and ages. Three were minors, aged 15, 16 and 17, while the fourth was 22.
It said all four had appeared in the video wearing military uniforms, but did not clarify whether they were serving soldiers, recruits or civilians who had obtained the clothing.
The ministry said it had opened a formal investigation but did not say where or when the video was recorded.
“No act undermining the honour and reputation of the National Armed Forces will be tolerated,” it said.
The ministry first responded on Friday after the footage spread widely on social media, calling the conduct unacceptable and inconsistent with the discipline and professionalism expected of the Somali National Army.
It said authorities had detained those involved while investigators worked to establish the circumstances and determine possible disciplinary and legal action.
The ministry stressed that the behaviour did not represent either the federal government or the armed forces and reaffirmed its “respect for the people and flag of the United States”.
Officials have not disclosed a motive, nor said whether the four acted independently or identified any military units to which they may have belonged.
US warning
The US Embassy in Mogadishu welcomed what it called the government’s “quick response and decisive actions”, while issuing a blunt warning over the possible consequences.
“Anti-American acts harm our bilateral relationship,” the embassy said.
“The United States has provided billions of taxpayer dollars in assistance to Somalia,” it added.
The embassy said American support had long helped fund military action against terrorist organisations that threaten the United States and “most directly, target the Somali people”.
“Malfeasant actors who seek to tarnish Somalia’s relationship with the United States harm the Somali people and must continue to be held accountable,” it said.
The statement highlighted the sensitivity of the incident for Mogadishu, which relies heavily on Washington for military, humanitarian and financial support.
The United States trains and equips Somali forces, provides intelligence and logistical assistance and carries out air strikes against the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group and Islamic State militants.
It has also played a central role in developing the elite Danab commando force, which conducts some of Somalia’s most important counter-terrorism operations.
Trump rhetoric
The incident comes amid growing resentment among some Somalis over President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on the country and Somali immigrants in the United States.
Trump called Somali immigrants “garbage” during a White House cabinet meeting in December, said they “contribute nothing” and declared: “We don’t want them in our country.”
He also said Somalia “stinks” and told Somalis to return and repair their country, prompting condemnation in Mogadishu and among the large Somali-American community in Minnesota.
Trump renewed the controversy last week when he shared a video of kindergarten children at a school in St Paul, Minnesota, where several girls wore hijabs during a graduation ceremony.
Somali and Muslim organisations accused him of amplifying anti-Muslim hostility towards children.
His administration has also pursued immigration measures affecting Somalis, including an effort to end temporary deportation protections for more than 1,000 Somali nationals.
A federal judge temporarily blocked that move in March.
Trump’s rhetoric and policies may have contributed to anger towards Washington, but no evidence has emerged linking the people shown in the flag video directly to the president or any specific US government action.
Vital security partner
The controversy comes at a sensitive moment in relations between Mogadishu and Washington.
Al-Shabaab has waged an insurgency against Somalia’s internationally backed government for nearly two decades and still controls or influences parts of the rural south and centre despite repeated military offensives.
US-backed operations have helped Somali forces target militant leaders, bomb-making networks and training camps, but the group retains the ability to carry out major attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.
Relations between the two governments have nevertheless come under growing strain.
The United States suspended assistance benefiting Somalia’s federal government in January following a dispute over a World Food Programme warehouse and food supplies at the port of Mogadishu.
Somalia rejected claims that officials had seized the food, saying the supplies remained under the UN agency’s control after authorities moved them during redevelopment work.
Washington later resumed WFP food distribution after Somalia said it had returned all commodities removed from the warehouse, while continuing to review its broader assistance to the country.
Washington has also signalled that it plans to end support from 2027 for United Nations logistical assistance to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, citing political divisions and slow progress in transferring security responsibility to Somali forces.
The African Union has warned that losing the support could threaten the mission’s operations.
Somalia’s rapid arrests and public condemnation of the flag incident appeared aimed at preventing another rupture in a relationship that remains central to the country’s fight against Islamist militants.
