The total strength of the Somaliland army is estimated to be around 8,000[6] to 12,000[7] soldiers. The Somaliland Police Force field under 6,000 personnel.[6][8] There are approximately 600 members of the Coast Guard.[7]
Somaliland spends $115 million budget on its armed forces, its largest government expenditure.[3] Due to a United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, the state is not allowed to procure weapons.[9]
Then Somali dictator Siad Barre accused them of being separatist groups and ordered the extermination of the Isaaq tribe,[13][14] to which the rebel group belonged. The movement fought a guerrilla war in the northwest of the country with the aim of overthrowing and replacing the military government.[15] After the dictator's defeat and special developments in 1991, the Somali sultans decided to abolish unity in 1960 and declared Somaliland an independent state.
In 1991, after Somaliland reasserted its sovereignty, the new government faced great problems with armed groups and armed clans, who were boycotting roads to earn a living.[16][17]
The new government launched the Somaliland peace process jointly with the Somali National Movement. The communities in Somaliland negotiated what led to the Great Reconciliation Conference in Borama in 1993 which allowed the transfer of power from the Somali National Movement.[18] An interim government for a new civil administration, paving the way for democratic governance and stability.[18]
After a civilian government led by Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal disarmed armed clans and armed groups and recruited armed forces from all over Somaliland.
The Armed Forces of Somaliland was officially established on 2 February 1994.[19]
In 1998 Puntland State of Somalia claimed Somaliland territory on the basis of clan kinship with some Somaliland communities in the eastern regions of Sool and Sanaag. Which led to tribal and armed conflicts, as a result, The armed forces of Somaliland withdrew from some cities in the eastern regions to avoid casualties until 2007 when the Somaliland communities in the eastern regions demanded that they intervene.
The Chief of the General Staff (Somali: Taliyaha Guud ee Ciidanka) is the head of the General Staff and the highest ranking officer of the Somaliland Armed Forces. He is appointed by the President of Somaliland, who holds the position of Commander-in-Chief and the head of the Somaliland Armed Forces. The current Chief of the General Staff is Major generalNimcaan Yusuf Osman (Gaaxnuug).[20]
Army
Commemoration of the 27th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Somaliland National Army
The Somaliland army has long operated without a formal rank structure. However, in December 2012, Somaliland defense ministry announced that a chain of command had been developed and which was implemented in January 2013.[4]
There are under 6,000 personnel in the police force[6] and about 600 personnel in the coast guard.[7]
Equipment
When the former Somali dictator Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, Somaliland inherited the military equipment, hardware and facilities that was left behind by the previous Somali Democratic Republic.[9]
Due to a United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, which the semi-autonomous Somaliland region is internationally recognized as being a part of, the territory is not allowed to purchase weapons. Consequently, military officials from the region rely on repairing and modifying old equipment. Some also claim that weapons are at times delivered from Ethiopia and Yemen via the port of Berbera.[9]
Regular Somaliland soldiers have been seen with SKS carbines (for parades) and various versions of the AK-47.[21]
The Somaliland Coast Guard (Somali: Ciidanka Bada ee Somaliland) was formed in 2009.[9] The headquarters is located in the coastal town of Berbera; a diving center run by foreign divers who train the Somaliland coast guard is also located there. The coast guard operates with small speedboats mounted with guns.[9] Much of this equipment was provided by the United Kingdom, in an effort to combat piracy.[4] The current commander of the coast guard is Ahmed Hurre Haariye.[22][23]
1234Horton, Micheal (November 2019). "How Somaliland Combats al-Shabaab". CTC Sentinel. 12 (10): 24. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2023. Somaliland's army is small with an estimated total force of under 8,000 soldiers. The Somaliland police field a nationwide force of under 6,000 men and women.
Metz, Helen Chapin (1993). "The Warrior Tradition and Development of a National Army". Somalia: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Federal Research Division, Thomas Leiper Kane Collection (Library of Congress Hebraic Section). ISBN978-0-84-440775-3.
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