MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Gen. Jimale Takar, commander of the Somali National Army’s 54th Division, has rejoined Puntland’s security forces and agreed that Danab units under his command at the Ligle military camp in Garowe will no longer report to Somalia’s federal government in Mogadishu, officials and clan leaders told Somaliguardian on Saturday.
Wararka Soomaaliya
The decision marks the latest – and potentially most consequential – in a series of setbacks for Mogadishu as Puntland moves to bring military and security forces operating within its territory under a single regional command.
Takar’s decision to rejoin Puntland forces followed talks with clan leaders and intellectuals from the Nugal region, who persuaded him to relinquish his federal position as commander of the 54th Division and rejoin Puntland forces, according to officials and clan leaders familiar with the talks.
Under the agreement, Puntland authorities will provide Takar and his forces with salaries and the support they require, while he will remain in command of the force
Faahfaahinta
Puntland authorities also agreed that politicians from Garowe who opposed the current regional administration and belong to the same clan as Takar would not be put on trial, despite earlier threats by the authorities, the officials and clan leaders said.
Takar’s defection strikes at Mogadishu’s military foothold
Gen. Jimale and the Danab forces under his command had been receiving salaries from the federal government for more than a year and had been registered through the government’s biometric army-registration system.
Saamaynta
His decision to abandon the federal command structure consequently represents a significant loss for Mogadishu, which has sought to establish a stronger foothold in Puntland and, ultimately, to weaken the influence of the region’s leadership and replace it with authorities more amenable to the federal government.
The development is particularly significant because Takar’s forces had occupied a position at the intersection of Puntland’s regional security structure and Mogadishu’s federal military architecture.
His return now gives Puntland another senior commander and contingent of troops that had been operating under federal authority.
Wararka.so waxay kuu soo tebineysaa wararka ugu dambeeyey ee Soomaaliya iyo caalamka. Si aad ula socoto wararkii ugu dambeeyey, booqo boggayaga.
