Galkayo (Somalia Today) — A senior Puntland official has accused Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of arming clan-based fighters to destabilise the semi-autonomous northeastern state, in what is the latest sign of a widening rupture between Garowe and Mogadishu.
Faysal Sheikh Ali, governor of the Puntland-controlled section of Mudug region and widely known as Jifo-jabsade, made the accusation during a speech in Galkayo, saying the federal government had withheld support from Puntland’s regular forces while backing armed groups that threatened local stability.
“Hassan refused the salaries and projects meant for Puntland’s security forces, the Darawiish and the police, and instead armed clan militias he wants to use to destroy us,” he said.
He also accused the president of blocking development funds meant for Puntland, including a road project linking Galkayo and Bacaadweyn, and of failing to assist Puntland troops wounded in recent fighting in the Cal Miskaad mountains.
Somalia Today did not receive a response from Villa Somalia to a request for comment by the time of publication.
The allegation marks a sharp escalation in Puntland’s rhetoric at a time when relations with the federal government are already at their lowest point in years.
The two sides have been locked in a protracted dispute since March 2024, when Puntland said it would no longer recognise Mogadishu’s authority until constitutional changes won approval through a nationwide referendum in which Puntland took part.
Constitutional showdown
At the heart of the dispute is Somalia’s unresolved constitutional settlement and the federal government’s push to move the country towards direct elections after decades of indirect, clan-based voting.
Mogadishu has cast the reforms as a historic step towards universal suffrage and stronger state institutions. Puntland and other critics, however, say the process has lacked broad national consensus and has handed too much power to the presidency.
The row sharpened again in late February, when lawmakers in Mogadishu moved into the final phase of the constitutional review.
Parliament approved the revised text on March 4, and Hassan Sheikh signed it into law on March 8, with the government presenting the move as the end of more than a decade of provisional rule.
The signing marked one of the most consequential constitutional changes since Somalia adopted its provisional charter in 2012.
The revised framework forms part of a broader political transition that officials say will anchor universal suffrage, with lawmakers elected directly by the public while parliament continues to choose the president.
But critics say insecurity, weak institutions and the absence of an agreed national electoral model make that transition deeply contentious. Instead of settling the debate, the overhaul has widened it.
Opposition figures grouped under the Somali Future Council, along with leaders in Puntland and Jubaland, have rejected the process, saying it did not secure the broad national consensus needed to rewrite the country’s basic law.
Their objections centre not only on the substance of the amendments, but also on their timing, with the old mandates of key institutions close to expiry and no agreed electoral path in place.
Federal fault lines
The tensions had already spilled into parliament before the final vote.
Lawmakers clashed during bitter sessions in Mogadishu earlier this year, underlining how combustible constitutional questions remain in a country where political disputes often overlap with clan rivalries and security fault lines.
Those divisions now reach far beyond the constitutional text.
In recent months, Puntland has clashed with Mogadishu over election planning, identity registration and the role of federal institutions inside its territory.
Garowe says the federal leadership is using national bodies to stir tensions in sensitive areas, particularly in Mudug, where overlapping jurisdictions and local rivalries have long complicated governance and security.
The same mistrust has affected security co-operation.
Puntland has portrayed itself as carrying a heavy burden in the fight against militants, especially during its campaign against Islamic State-linked fighters in the Cal Miskaad mountains.
The political split with Mogadishu has at times spilled into counter-terrorism operations, deepening concerns about the lack of a unified national security approach.
That matters because Mudug remains one of Somalia’s most politically delicate regions. Split between Puntland and Galmudug, it has long been vulnerable to clan violence, administrative rivalry and militant activity.
Any accusation that the federal leadership is backing local armed actors therefore resonates far beyond Puntland’s internal politics and feeds broader fears that disputes between centre and periphery could destabilise already fragile areas.
Jifo-jabsade’s speech suggested Puntland now sees a single pattern behind a widening list of grievances.
In Garowe’s view, development delays, security complaints, electoral disputes and constitutional reform all form part of a larger struggle over who ultimately controls power in Somalia’s federal order.
Funding shortfalls
That narrative has gained force as Puntland increasingly presents itself as both a bulwark against militant threats and a target of political pressure from Mogadishu.
The road project cited by the governor has become part of that political argument.
Puntland has highlighted the Galkayo-Bacaadweyn road as a strategic development link for the region, and complaints over delays or blocked funding reinforce its broader claim that the state is being politically and economically sidelined.
However, government sources say Puntland cannot cut ties with the central government, obstruct laws and federal-led initiatives, and still expect money to keep flowing from Mogadishu.
The gathering in Galkayo where Jifo-jabsade spoke drew Puntland officials, district and regional administrators, police officers, elders and other community representatives, who voiced support for Puntland’s position.
That support underlined that the governor’s remarks were not a personal outburst, but part of a broader political message from Puntland at a time when relations with the federal government remain severely strained.
