Friday July 3, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday dismissed accusations that the federal government is stoking tensions in Puntland State, insisting that ties between Mogadishu and the Puntland State administration are effectively frozen.
Speaking in Mogadishu, Mohamud said there is no functioning cooperation between federal ministries and Puntland State officials, and he rejected claims that the central government is behind unrest or armed mobilization in the region.
“There is nothing to the allegations that sedition is being organized in Mogadishu to incite violence in Puntland State,” the president said.
He likewise denied assertions that the federal government is assembling troops or militias in Mogadishu for deployment inside Puntland State.
Mohamud said fighters recruited from Puntland State have been serving in federal government forces for several months and are being paid their normal salaries.
He added that those personnel have not been linked to insecurity or any renewed unrest.
The president urged Puntland State’s leadership to settle political disagreements through dialogue, saying the federal government remains prepared to talk and find a way through the dispute.
Mohamud also accused Puntland State authorities of blocking some federal initiatives.
He pointed to a program aimed at training and recruiting hundreds of teachers for schools in the regions, saying the effort had gone ahead in other federal member states but was turned away by Puntland State.
The remarks come as political friction between the Federal Government of Somalia and Puntland State continues to deepen.
Earlier this week, Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni accused the federal government of meddling in Puntland State’s internal affairs and taking steps he said were weakening Somalia’s federal system.
Puntland State has also issued security orders limiting the movement of non-Puntland State forces and military vehicles in areas under its control, while local elders have urged both sides to step back before the dispute escalates into armed confrontation.
