Garowe (WDN) — Puntland authorities have formally taken control of a group of security personnel previously aligned with Puntland politician Mohamud Mashruuc, in what officials and political observers describe as another step toward consolidating the region’s security institutions under a unified state command.
A representative speaking on behalf of the forces confirmed that an agreement had been reached with the Puntland administration, paving the way for the personnel to be formally integrated into Puntland’s security structures.
The forces had previously been associated with Mashruuc, a Puntland political figure who, according to local reports, had been receiving a assistance the Federal Government of Somalia despite being from Puntland.
The development follows an earlier incident in which Puntland authorities prevented Mashruuc from entering Garowe after he traveled from Carmo toward the regional capital. His movement, and the presence of personnel associated with him, had become part of a wider dispute over the role of politically affiliated security forces operating within Puntland.
The agreement was formally presented during a ceremony held in Kur-ilaalo, in Puntland’s Karkaar region, where representatives of the administration and the forces announced the conclusion of the arrangement.
The latest development appears to form part of President Said Abdullahi Deni’s broader effort to eliminate political interference and competing chains of command within Puntland’s security sector.
For years, the existence of armed formations linked directly or indirectly to individual politicians has presented a challenge to Puntland’s efforts to establish a professional and unified security architecture.
The administration has increasingly insisted that security personnel must operate under legitimate state institutions rather than under the authority of individual politicians, political factions or external actors.
The integration of Mashruuc-aligned personnel therefore represents more than a personnel transfer. It signals an attempt to transform politically affiliated forces into formal state security institutions subject to a single chain of command.
From Political Forces to State Institutions
Puntland officials argue that a functioning security sector cannot operate effectively when competing political actors maintain their own armed formations.
The administration has consequently sought to bring armed personnel operating outside the formal security structure under government control, while encouraging them to surrender their previous political affiliations and serve the state.
Supporters of Deni’s approach say the policy could strengthen discipline, improve command and control, and reduce the risk of political disputes developing into armed confrontations.
Critics, however, may question whether the process can be implemented consistently across all political factions and whether sufficient guarantees exist for personnel being absorbed into the state security apparatus.
Nevertheless, the agreement with forces associated with Mashruuc adds to a series of recent moves aimed at consolidating Puntland’s security institutions.
A Broader Political Message
The development also carries a wider political message. By bringing politically affiliated personnel under formal state command, Puntland’s administration is signaling that access to armed forces cannot remain a tool of political competition.
For President Deni, the challenge is not simply to control individual armed groups but to establish a security system in which the state—not individual politicians—is the ultimate authority over armed personnel.
If sustained, the policy could mark an important shift in Puntland’s political culture, particularly in reducing the role of private or factional security structures and strengthening the principle of institutional control over the security sector.
The Kur-ilaalo agreement is therefore likely to be viewed not merely as a local settlement, but as part of Puntland’s broader effort to establish a unified security command and separate political competition from the use of armed forces.
Whether the strategy succeeds in creating a genuinely professional and politically neutral security sector will depend on its consistent application across Puntland and the administration’s ability to maintain dialogue with political actors while firmly asserting state authority.
WardheerNews