Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s parliament has called in the defense minister and army chief to explain reported reductions in benefits for retired and disabled soldiers, as well as families of troops killed in combat.
The House of the People’s Defense Committee said Saturday that payments to some retired and disabled personnel had been cut by 50%. Benefits for families of officers killed in combat were reportedly reduced by as much as 60%.
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Nearly 6,000 soldiers and relatives are affected, the committee said, blaming the Defense Ministry and Somali National Army command for the changes. It added that the Finance Ministry took part in administering the payments.
The committee instructed Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi and the Somali National Army commander to appear before lawmakers on Oct. 4 at the House of the People complex in Mogadishu.
It separately gave Fiqi 72 hours to explain the reductions, identify the legal authority used to approve them and clarify whether parliament-approved allocations in the 2026 federal budget had been altered.
Lawmakers also called for an assessment of the potential impact on troops deployed to front-line positions. They requested details on military barracks that have been sold and on military families displaced from government-provided housing.
The federal government had not issued a public response to the committee’s allegations by Saturday.
The reported cuts have drawn condemnation from families and former security officials, including former intelligence chief Fahad Haji Yasin Dahir.
“This issue did not begin recently; rather, there have long been complaints regarding the treatment of certain segments of the Somali National Army, specifically the families of fallen soldiers, disabled troops and retirees,” Fahad wrote on Facebook.
He warned that cutting the payments could reinforce concerns that soldiers who gave their lives or health in service to Somalia are not receiving sufficient support.
“I explicitly call upon President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his administration to disclose to the public and the military the legal basis for this decision, the approving authority, the legal mandate under which it was implemented, and the reason why the financial burden is being imposed on the most vulnerable segments of the National Army,” Fahad wrote.
Reports of the reductions surfaced after families raising children of soldiers killed in the fight against al-Shabab said monthly payments had dropped from $200 to $100 per child. The families said officials had not provided an explanation.
Fahad said any changes to benefits must rest on clear legal grounds and be carried out transparently and accountably.
“The martyrs withheld nothing from the nation; they gave the most precious thing a human being possesses their lives,” Fahad wrote, saying assistance to their families should be recognized as an entitlement, not charity.
The dispute comes as Somalia wages ongoing military operations against al-Shabab and works to expand and professionalize its armed forces.
In April, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud laid the foundation stone for a headquarters for the Somali National Army Orphans Care Agency. The government said the agency would help provide education, care and other assistance to children of fallen soldiers.
The summons puts additional pressure on the Defense Ministry to determine whether the reported reductions are temporary administrative measures or signal a wider restructuring of military benefits.
