Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — A Saudi military delegation has inspected two camps in central Somalia where more than 5,000 recruits are undergoing a Saudi-funded training programme, sources told Somalia Today, signalling Riyadh’s growing security role in the Horn of Africa nation.
The delegation visited the facilities in Guriel, in the central Galgaduud region, where 5,107 soldiers have enrolled in a nine-month course covering basic military skills, operational procedures and combat training, according to reports on the programme.
Around 2,000 of the recruits came from Puntland in northeastern Somalia, while the authorities drew the rest from other parts of the country, the reports said.
Military instructors from Romania, Ukraine, South Africa and Colombia are overseeing the training, according to the same accounts.
The reports did not explain how officials selected the instructors, their contractual status or where the new units would deploy after graduation.
The troop numbers and the composition of the training team could not be independently confirmed.
New partnership
The programme comes five months after Somali Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Khalid bin Salman, signed a military cooperation agreement in Riyadh on February 9.
Somalia’s state news agency said the accord would strengthen defence and military cooperation between the two countries and cover several areas of mutual interest.
Fiqi described the deal as a “new chapter in defence cooperation”, although neither government released its full terms.
The Guriel programme appears to rank among the first large-scale initiatives linked to the pact, which Mogadishu signed as it sought new sources of military training, equipment and technical support.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in April that Somalia would stop sending recruits abroad for initial training and would instead expand military education at home.
“We will soon open the Defence University here,” Mohamud said, adding that the institution would train senior officers in defence strategy and modern weapons systems.
His government says recruits should complete at least six months of basic training inside Somalia before deployment.
Foreign support
Somalia’s army has long relied on a network of foreign partners as it fights Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda-linked group that has waged an insurgency for nearly two decades.
Türkiye operates the TURKSOM military academy in Mogadishu and has trained successive classes of officers and members of the elite Gorgor forces since the facility opened in 2017.
The United States has trained the Danab commandos, while the European Union and several African and Middle Eastern countries have supported other Somali units.
On Friday, Mohamud attended the graduation of the eighth class of officers and non-commissioned officers from TURKSOM and praised Türkiye’s role in helping Somalia rebuild its army.
“The reputation of the Somali National Army has reached its highest point,” army chief General Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamud said at the ceremony.
The overlapping foreign programmes have increased the army’s manpower and specialist capabilities.
But analysts have repeatedly warned that different training systems, salary structures and chains of command can leave Somali forces fragmented and difficult to integrate under a unified national structure.
Puntland tensions
The reported inclusion of around 2,000 recruits from Puntland carries particular political sensitivity because relations between the northeastern administration and the federal government have sharply deteriorated.
The two sides remain divided over constitutional changes, elections and control of security forces.
Puntland Vice-President Ilyas Osman Lugatoor said last month that the regional authorities would not permit “the recruitment of troops inside Puntland” without their approval.
Days later, Puntland said forces linked to the federal government would not be allowed to enter, remain in or pass through territory under its control.
It remains unclear whether federal officials recruited the Guriel trainees inside Puntland or whether the recruits travelled independently to the camps.
Puntland has not publicly commented on the reported presence of its residents in the programme.
Gulf rivalry
Saudi Arabia’s growing involvement also follows Somalia’s January decision to cancel all agreements with the United Arab Emirates, including defence and security deals, after accusing Abu Dhabi of undermining its sovereignty.
Puntland, Jubaland and Somaliland rejected Mogadishu’s decision and said their own ties with the UAE would continue.
The dispute added another layer to the regional rivalry surrounding Somalia, which lies along shipping routes linking the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Its long coastline and proximity to the Bab al-Mandab Strait have made the country increasingly important to Gulf states and other powers seeking influence over maritime security and trade.
Horn of Africa analyst Abdullahi Abdi Sheikh said the Saudi agreement allowed Riyadh to extend its influence towards the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab corridor while giving Somalia another powerful security partner.
“Saudi Arabia is trying to spread its influence on Somalia,” he said.
The training drive comes as federal and opposition leaders hold talks over a disputed electoral process and as political divisions complicate operations against Al-Shabaab.
The conflict-monitoring group ACLED warned in March that continued fragmentation “risks creating openings for Al-Shabaab”, which has repeatedly exploited disputes among Somali authorities to regain territory.
