Somaliland Armed Forces


The Somaliland National Armed Forces are the military services of Somaliland. They are composed of two active military branches: the army and the navy. There is no air force.
The Somaliland Police Force is also a part of the internal security forces and subordinate to the military. The Armed Forces is under the command of President Muse Bihi Abdi, who is the Commander-in-chief. Minister of Defence Abdiqani Mohamoud Aateye is the designated minister that oversees the armed forces.
Somaliland has 126 tanks, 109 armoured fighting vehicles, 23 rocket projectors, and 11 artillery in its national army, and 29,000 soldiers. Somaliland has 97 police cars and other vehicles in its police force as well as 22,000 police officers. Somaliland has 40 patrol craft and 13 patrol vessels in its navy, and 1,000 naval officers.
Somaliland spends a third of its $350 million budget on its armed forces, its largest government expenditure. Due to a United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, the state is not allowed to procure weapons.

Commanders

Army

Personnel

The sub of Somaliland army İn Somaliland has long operated without a formal rank structure. However, in December 2012, Somaliland defense ministry announced that a chain of command had been developed and would be implemented by January 2013.

Equipment

When the former Somalia ruler Siad Barre was ousted in 1990, Somaliland inherited the military equipment, hardware and facilities that were within the territories of present-day Somaliland.
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:
The Somaliland navy 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.