Current form 1997 Chief of Defense Nuh Ismail Tani Headquarters Hargeisa, Berbera | Minister of Defense Ahmed Haji Abdi Adami Military age 18-45 | |
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Service branches Army
Air Defense Forces
Navy Commander-in-Chief President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Similar Djibouti Armed Forces, Eritrean Defence Forces, Benin Armed Forces, Armed Forces of Gabon, Zambian Defence Force | ||
The Somaliland National Armed Forces (Somali: Ciidanka Qaranka Jamhuuriyada Somaliland ) are the main military forces in the Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. They are composed of two active military branches: the army and the navy. There is no Base air force. The Somaliland Police Force is also a part of the internal security forces and is subordinate to the military. The Somaliland National Armed Forces comes under the command of President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud, who is the Commander-In-Chief. Minister of Defence Ahmed Haji Abdi Adami is the designated minister that oversees the armed forces.
Contents
Somaliland spends more on its armed forces than any other item, allocating 30% of revenues to the military. Due to Somaliland's lack of international recognition, the region is not allowed to procure weapons.
Personnel
The sub of Somali army defence İn Somaliland has long operated without a formal rank structure. However, in December 2012, the regional defense ministry announced that a chain of command had been developed and would be implemented by January 2013.
Equipment
Due to a United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, which the semi-autonomous Somaliland region is internationally recognized as being a part of, the territory is not allowed to purchase weapons. Consequently, military officials from the region rely on repairing and modifying old equipment. Some also claim that weapons are at times delivered from Ethiopia and Yemen via the port of Berbera, usually during the night.
Regular Somaliland soldiers have been seen with SKS carbines and various versions of the AK-47.
Additionally, the Somaliland army operates an unknown number of the following equipment:
Navy
The Somaliland navy (Somali: Ciidanka Bada ee Somaliland) was formed in 2009. The headquarters is located in the coastal town of Berbera; a diving center run by foreign divers who train the Somaliland navy is also located there. The Navy operates with small speedboats mounted with guns. Much of this equipment was provided by the United Kingdom, in an effort to combat piracy.