Somalia: Puntland accuses federal government of smuggling weapons to incite civil war

GAROWE, Somalia - Somalia's northeastern Federal State of Puntland on Wednesday accused the federal government of smuggling weapons into its territory to incite civil strife, escalating a dangerous constitutional standoff in the Horn of Africa nation.

Puntland state Ministry of Security issued a stern warning, alleging that the central government in Mogadishu is funneling arms into the territory to trigger inter-clan warfare, using local politicians and former officials as proxies.

In immediate retaliation, the ministry banned all non-local security forces from its territory and barred officials appointed by the federal government from entering Puntland territory. 

"There is a major coordinated plan between four foreign nations and the federal government, which is executing it," the statement said. "The objective of this plan is to arm clans to fight each other and destroy the peace of Puntland."

Tensions between the central government in Mogadishu and the Federal states have reached a fever pitch following the expiration of the federal administration's official mandate on May 15, 2026.

Puntland officials said Somali President Hassan Sheikh had previously boasted in 2025 about recruiting allied militias within its land as part of a broader campaign to unseat Puntland's regional President, Said Abdullahi Deni, a fierce critic of the central government.

The Federal State further warned that Mogadishu's actions threatened to replicate recent political upheavals elsewhere in the country. Puntland pointed to the neighboring South West State, where it claims the federal government forcibly ousted regional President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed "Lafta-Gareen," and accused authorities of actively stoking unrest to topple leadership in Galmudug and Hirshabelle states.

Puntland, which declared itself an autonomous state in 1998, has maintained a fractured relationship with the central government over resources, power-sharing, and constitutional changes. Puntland vowed it would "never accept" what it termed an assault on its stability, claiming similar attempts to destabilize the region over the last 26 years had repeatedly failed.

The federal government in Mogadishu has not yet officially responded to Puntland's latest accusations.

GAROWE ONLINE