Dhusamareb (AX) — Somalia has graduated one of its largest military training cohorts in decades, with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud joining thousands of Somali National Army (SNA) recruits at a ceremony in Galguduud region.
The recruits completed nearly a year of basic training at the Hananbuure training center after being drawn from across the country. They are among the biggest groups to finish basic military instruction since Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991.
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During the program, the recruits studied military skills, discipline and ethics, combat tactics, regulations and other subjects considered essential to service in the national army.
President Mohamud called the graduation a significant step in the effort to rebuild Somalia’s armed forces and restore the country’s state institutions.
He told the newly trained soldiers to protect the army’s reputation and defend Somalia’s unity, sovereignty and national interests.
Galmudug President Ahmed Abdi Kariye attended the ceremony alongside Somalia’s defense minister, the minister of public works, members of the Federal Parliament, the Somali National Army commander, officials from Galguduud region and other government representatives.
The government did not release the precise number of graduates, nor did it name the countries or institutions that supported the training initiative.
Reports, however, say that close to 5,000 soldiers completed the course under a defense and military cooperation agreement Somalia and Saudi Arabia signed in February.
The agreement is designed to deepen military and defense ties between the two countries, but significant details about how it is being implemented remain undisclosed.
The same reports state that instructors from Romania, Ukraine, South Africa and Colombia took part in the training, which was financed by Saudi Arabia. Saudi military officials have also reportedly visited Somali training facilities to review the program’s progress.
Neither the Somali nor Saudi government has publicly verified the reported funding arrangements, the participation of foreign instructors or the number of troops trained.
Saudi Arabia’s reported involvement comes as Gulf states increase their security and military engagement in Somalia, where the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have also assumed prominent roles.
Since the early 2010s, the UAE has backed the Puntland State Maritime Police Force with training, funding and equipment. Reports have additionally said Emirati forces retained a presence in Bosaso and provided air support for operations targeting Islamic State militants in the Al-Miskaad mountains.
Relations between Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi have since worsened. Somalia suspended port and security cooperation agreements with the UAE in January, accusing the country of weakening Somali sovereignty.
Saudi Arabia’s reported backing for the latest training effort underscores the expanding regional role in Somalia’s security sector as the federal government works to strengthen the national army and gradually lessen its dependence on foreign forces.
