An elite group of U.S.-trained Somali commandos has become so entangled in local political power struggles that it has ceased operations against the Islamist militants it was created to fight
U.S. commandos make periodic trips into Somalia to train local forces.around the world for almost a year. President Biden has yet to announce whether he will send American forces back into Somalia on a permanent basis.
U.S. commanders considered the Puntland Security Force one of its most reliable and effective allies in a chaotic country riven along clan, political, regional and ideological fissures.After the U.S. withdrawal last year, however, the unit’s status was ambiguous. It was no longer an American asset, but it didn’t exactly belong to the central government in Mogadishu or the state government in Puntland either.
In some ways the unit resembles a family business. The majority of soldiers are from the same Osman Mohamud sub-clan. The original commander gave way to his son, who in turn gave way to his brother, the latest commander, Brig. Gen. Mohamud Osman, known by the nickname Diyaano. That changed, however, on Nov. 24, when Said Abdullahi Deni, the president of Puntland state, issued a decree dismissing Gen. Mohamud. Mr. Deni named an ally as the new commander, a man unpopular in the ranks of the Puntland Defense Force, according to the unit veteran.
Gen. Mohamud responded by summoning hundreds of his own troops from their outposts, where they had been fighting al-Shabaab and Islamic State, according to people close to the situation. They dug foxholes around the headquarters building. Schools in the neighborhood closed for a few days amid escalating tensions, although there have been no reports of actual violence, according to the people familiar with the developments.
This time it was the president who balked, issuing a statement rejecting the elders’ proposal and calling upon Gen. Mohamud to surrender his command, his weapons, his vehicles and his headquarters. The unit, the government official said, belonged to the state, not the commander.
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