# Somaliland armed forces (Ciidanka Qaranka Somaliland) > Somaliland's army, coast guard and police: how they were formed after 1991, their size and budget, leaders, how they counter al-Shabaab, and the conflicts in the east. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/somaliland-armed-forces/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short Somaliland declared itself independent in May 1991 (see [Somaliland, 1991 to 2026](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/)). It has built its own security forces, which are not part of the [Somali National Army](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/). Its other public bodies are described in [Somaliland's institutions](/en/institutions/somaliland-institutions/). ## How they were formed In 1991 the main armed force in the north-west was the [Somali National Movement](/en/institutions/somali-national-movement/), alongside clan militias. After the 1993 [Borama](/en/regions/awdal/) conference, the civilian government of [Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal](/en/people/mohamed-haji-ibrahim-egal/) disarmed armed groups and recruited new forces from across Somaliland. Wikipedia gives 2 February 1994 as the formal founding date ([Wikipedia, Somaliland Armed Forces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland_Armed_Forces)). Wikipedia draws on a 1999 study of small arms in Somaliland for this period ([Forberg and Terlinden, *Small Arms in Somaliland*, 1999](https://www.bits.de/public/pdf/rr99-1.PDF)). ## Branches and size - **Army.** About 8,000, according to its chief of staff in 2019. The IISS *Military Balance 2024* gives about 12,500 ([Michael Horton, *CTC Sentinel*, November 2019](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somaliland-combats-al-shabaab/); [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland_Armed_Forces)). - **Coast guard.** Formed in 2009 and based in Berbera, with about 600 personnel. Much of its equipment came from the UK for anti-piracy work (Wikipedia). It watches 528 miles of coast from observation posts, supported by trained coastal monitors with mobile phones ([CTC Sentinel, 2019](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somaliland-combats-al-shabaab/)). - **Police.** See [Somaliland Police Force](/en/institutions/somaliland-police/). Under 6,000 men and women, including a Special Protection Unit created to guard foreign organisations after four foreign aid workers were killed in 2003–2004, and Rapid Response Units for counter-terrorism (same source). - **Custodial corps.** Guards prisons (Wikipedia). There is no air force. Horton records that recruits had to bring their own personal weapon, because of the UN arms embargo on Somalia ([CTC Sentinel, 2019](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somaliland-combats-al-shabaab/)). ## Money Horton reported a national budget of about US$233 million in 2019, with roughly 35% going to the security services, police and military ([CTC Sentinel, 2019](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somaliland-combats-al-shabaab/)). The UK supports the police; the UK and EU have supported the army and coast guard (same source). ## Leaders The president is commander-in-chief. Wikipedia lists Major General Nimcaan Yusuf Osman as chief of the general staff and Ahmed Hurre Haariye as coast guard commander ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland_Armed_Forces)). ## Countering al-Shabaab On 29 October 2008 suicide bombers struck Hargeisa, killing 25 people there, in attacks coordinated with bombings in [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/). Horton describes how Somaliland then formalised a system in which each village has a community leader, often a clan elder, who reports to district officials, making community information the core of its counter-terrorism. Somaliland authorities say at least three al-Shabaab attacks have been stopped since 2008. Horton names the eastern borderlands of Sanaag and Sool as the weakest area ([CTC Sentinel, 2019](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somaliland-combats-al-shabaab/)). ## Conflicts in the east Sool and eastern Sanaag are claimed by both Somaliland and Puntland. Wikipedia records that Puntland claimed them from 1998 and that Somaliland forces returned to Las Anod in 2007, saying local communities had asked them to. Later clashes include fighting at Ayn in 2010, the battle of Tukaraq in 2018 and the Las Anod conflict of 2023 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland_Armed_Forces)). The people and history of these regions are described in [Laascaanood (Las Anod) and Sool](/en/regions/sool/) and [Sanaag](/en/regions/sanaag/). ## Sources differ - **Army size.** About 8,000 (2019) or about 12,500 (IISS, 2024). - **Spending.** Wikipedia gives different budget figures in different places; Horton's 35% share for 2019 is from interviews. ## Read the primary sources yourself - Michael Horton, "How Somaliland combats al-Shabaab", *CTC Sentinel* 12:10 (2019): [article](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somaliland-combats-al-shabaab/). - Ehrhart Forberg and Ulf Terlinden, *Small Arms in Somaliland* (1999): [PDF](https://www.bits.de/public/pdf/rr99-1.PDF). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.