Somalia Boosts Border Security Operations in Galmudug

Somali federal and Galmudug state forces are expanding security operations across central Somalia, a stretch of country where authority is divided between federal institutions, state administrations and local clan structures.

Galmudug was formed in 2006 and sits between Puntland to the north and Hirshabelle to the south, with Dhusamareb as its administrative seat. Its internal boundaries have been contested for most of its existence, and the practical difficulty in central Somalia has rarely been the international frontier. It has been the space between administrations, where jurisdiction is unclear and armed groups have historically been able to move.

Operations in the region involve several distinct forces: the Somali National Army, federal police, Galmudug state forces, and locally raised units. Coordinating them is itself a large part of the security problem, and the federal government has spent several years attempting to bring locally raised forces into a common command structure.

Reporting from central Somalia is difficult to verify independently. Access is limited, communications are intermittent, and claims from all parties routinely diverge. This newsroom does not publish casualty figures, territorial claims or operational details that it cannot corroborate.