Puntland “Temporarily” halts training of federal government troops in Bari region

Puntland state of Somalia decided to suspend the training of federal government troops in Sanaag and Cayn regions at the military training college in Carmo, Bari region.

The troops were supposed to receive instruction at the training college but were ordered to stop and return home. Neither Puntland state or federal government officials publicly commented on the matter. However, some sources believe that the suspension was linked to a dispute between Puntland and the federal government.

In a video circulated on social media, one soldier who was denied training said they had been mistreated and removed from the training camp in the middle of the night. A senior officials at Carmo Military College declined to elaborate on the reasons behind the cancellation. The soldiers said they were part of the Somali federal government forces. They also said they were targeted in a tribal manner.