GAROWE (KAAB TV) – Authorities of Puntland State are reported to have suspended the payment of salaries and the issuance of rations to soldiers from the Sool Region and Ayn Region after those areas aligned with the newly-established regional administration of the north-east of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
The decision is said to be a direct response to the defection of some officers and soldiers who rejected orders from the Puntland General Command and instead pledged loyalty to the emerging regional structure.
An informed source within Garowe said the move reflects mounting frustration in Puntland’s capital after personnel from Sool and Ayn switched sides and claimed to follow the chain of command of the nascent administration.
Among those affected are soldiers formerly loyal to the region’s ex-Vice President Ahmed Karaash, a prominent political figure believed to have played a key role in supporting the new North East administration.
According to available information, the unpaid soldiers recently convened a meeting with Vice President Ilyas Lugatoor (who is from Sool) to press for the reinstatement of their salaries and ration allotments.
The troops claim they have been without pay or supplies for three months, and they warned that unless their demands are met they may undertake unspecified measures — including blocking major roads.
Though this development has not yet been independently verified by multiple sources, it underscores the deepening political and military fault-lines in northern Somalia, especially in the contested borderlands between Puntland and the emerging administration in the north-east.