Armed Forces of Somalia
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| guide | |||
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| Commander in Chief : | President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed | ||
| Military Commander: | Brig. Gen. Ahmed Mohamed Jimale | ||
| Headquarters: | Mogadishu | ||
| Military strength | |||
| Active soldiers: | 15,900 (2017) | ||
| Conscription: | No | ||
| Eligibility for military service: | 18th | ||
| history | |||
| Founding: | 1960 | ||
The armed forces of Somalia (Somali: Xoogga Dalka Soomaaliyeed ) have been reconstructing since 2012 after the state collapse of Somalia around 1991. The current commander in chief of the Somali Armed Forces is President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed . The current Army Chief Brigadier General Ahmed Mohamed Jimale has been in this position since April 5, 2017.
history
Armed Forces of Somalia from 1960
The Somali Armed Forces were established in 1960. The Somaliland Scouts of the British Army were the core force behind the establishment of the Somali armed forces . Somalia has been isolated in the region since its independence due to its territorial claims vis-à-vis neighboring countries. 1963–1967 were active in the " Shifta War " in northeast Kenya , supported by Somalia, and from February to April 1964 Somalia and Ethiopia waged a brief border war. In the same year, Ethiopia and Kenya signed a defense agreement against Somalia. On October 21, 1969, pro-Soviet military under Siad Barre took power. Barre built the army with Soviet support to one of the strongest on the continent and in 1976 / 77-1978 waged a new war for Ogaden against Ethiopia, which Somalia lost. The communist Derg regime of Ethiopia was supported by the Soviet Union and Barre - after he broke with the Soviet Union because of their support for Ethiopia - by the USA. The consequences of the Ogaden War were thousands of deaths, high costs for Somalia and the influx of over 650,000 refugees. Inside, Siad Barre ruled increasingly dictatorially. In 1978 some army officers, mainly Majerteen-Darod, attempted to overthrow his government. One of those involved in the coup attempt, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed , escaped to Ethiopia and led an Ethiopia-backed military offensive of the Somali Democratic Redemption Front (SSDF) in the border regions of Mudug , Galguduud and Hiiraan in 1982 . The United States then supported the Somali army with substantial arms deliveries to fend off the alleged Ethiopian invasion. The Hawiye clan in the south, although initially on the side of the government, founded the opposition United Somali Congress (USC), which led a rebellion in 1989.
De facto dissolution of the state in 1991
On January 26, 1991, Barre was deposed and eventually fled Somalia. In the further course of the Somali civil war , Mohammed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohammed from the USC tried to claim power for themselves. The other opposition groups did not recognize the Provisional Government formed by the USC. Under the leadership of the SNM, the north of the country unilaterally declared its independence as Somaliland , which was not recognized internationally. This is where the Somaliland armed forces were established.
The USC itself split between the Abgal and Habre Gedir Hawiye subclans after Ali Mahdi Mohammed (Abgal) proclaimed himself president without the consent of Aidids (Habre Gedir). Siad Barre's defense minister and son-in-law Siad Hersi "Morgan" continued to fight in the south on the Barres side. Somalia split into contested spheres of power of clans and warlords and their militias. Even foreign interventions could not help to clarify the balance of power. In 2000, following peace negotiations in Arta , Djibouti, a transitional government made up of representatives from various clans was formed. On December 24, 2006, Ethiopia intervened in the civil war. The militant underground organization al-Shabaab and other groups brought large parts of southern and central Somalia under their control in the course of 2008. The interim government only controlled some parts of Mogadishu and the city of Baidoa . At the end of 2008, President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed resigned after he had been criticized for his lack of success and had fallen out with Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein . Parts of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia were negotiating with the transitional government about a power-sharing and the withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops. These negotiations resulted in the withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops in January 2009. Alliance representative Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected as the new president. In 2011 the Kenya Defense Forces with around 2,400 soldiers marched into Somalia in Operation Linda Nchi (German: Defend the Nation) to fight al-Shabaab.
Federal Republic from 2012
On August 1, 2012, Somalia's parliament adopted a new constitution. With it, the transitional government of Somalia was replaced and for the first time an at least formally normalized state order was restored. Somalia was converted into a Federal Republic. However, the de facto regimes in Somaliland and Puntland do not recognize the government in Mogadishu.
The reconstruction of Somalia's armed forces has been underway since 2012 with the support of numerous foreign powers. The current Army Chief Brig. General Ahmed Mohamed Jimale has been in service since April 5, 2017.
Current equipment
The current equipment of the Somali armed forces is a mixture of material from the previous Somali army and donations from the last few years. The sources for the equipment are confusing.
Land Forces
Gun donations 2012–2013
After the intervention of the African Union and the recapture of Mogadishu in 2011 and the transition to a Somali central government, several western states and Djibouti announced their intention to donate Somali arms to Somali
To equip the army with more modern equipment.
In March 2012, the United States government donated 33 vehicles to the Somali Army, including four Hilux pickups, six Land Rover pickups and a variety of water tankers.
In addition, 15 more vehicles were handed over to the Somali armed forces in 2014.
Air Force and Navy
Air force and navy are to be rebuilt. Apart from a few small transport aircraft and patrol boats , they currently have no equipment worth mentioning.
The reconstruction of the Somali Navy began in 2012. On January 30, 2012, the United Arab Emirates made a donation of one million dollars to the reconstruction of a Somali Navy. These investments should include a central command center.
On January 23, 2020, the Turkish Navy handed over 7 patrol boats to the Somali Navy
Individual evidence
- ^ Information from Globalfirepower.com
- ↑ aawsat.com: Somalia: President changes military leadership, Declares War on Terror
- ^ Countrystudies.us: Somalia - Pan-Somalism
- ^ Number from Countrystudies.us: Somalia - Foreign Relations
- ↑ somaliareport.com: Somalilands military is a shadow of the past ( Memento from January 20, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d e f g h International Institute for Strategic Studies : The Military Balance 2017
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Richard D. Jones: Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010 . Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5
- ↑ africanews.com: Several soldiers killed in al-Shabaab-attack on somali army-base
- ↑ AMISOM hands over military vehicles to the Somali National Army. African Union Mission In Somalia, August 12, 2012, accessed May 23, 2020 .
- ↑ US eases arms restrictions for Somalia. April 9, 2013, accessed May 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Unknown: Somali Navy handover of boats. In: YouTube. Somali Navy, January 23, 2020, accessed July 21, 2020 (Somali).
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