MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Authorities in northeastern Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland on Sunday dismissed claims by Somalia’s federal government that 20 Al-Shabaab militants were killed in an operation conducted with the international partners.
“The Ministry of Information of Puntland informs Puntland people, Somalis in general and the international community that reports disseminated by the Federal Government’s Ministry of Information claiming that SNA troops carried out a military operation in Al-Madow in Puntland are groundless,” Puntland authorities said in a statement.
“Puntland government is independently responsible for its security and Puntland forces are present in Al-Madow, therefore, there are no SNA troops that are present or operate in Puntland.”
There has been no independent confirmation of the assertions by both sides, which come amid an escalating rift between the federal leadership and Puntland state.
Over the past months, Somalia’s federal government claimed that hundreds of militants were killed in operations conducted by the international partners, though insurgents were able to retake swathes of territory they had lost during the initial phase of a military campaign launched in 2022, which has faltered after a spate of attacks.
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