Defying Puntland warning, Somalia’s president visits Galkayo

On Aug 18, 2026

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived Monday in the southern, Galmudug-administered half of Galkayo, a city still bearing the tension of recent fighting, as Puntland President Saeed Abdullahi Deni remained stationed in the northern half under his administration’s control just kilometers away.

The visit comes weeks after forces loyal to the two men clashed in the same city, an engagement in which Mohamud’s allied forces suffered a heavy defeat. It also comes days after Puntland authorities publicly warned the federal president against traveling to Galkayo, describing his presence as a threat to the state’s security.

Mohamud reached the city by road as part of a multi-day tour of districts across Galmudug state. The trip unfolds against a backdrop that officials and observers describe as extending beyond an internal Somali power struggle, with signs of involvement by outside states.

Saudi-Trained Graduates, Regional Rivalries

Earlier this week, President Mohamud attended a graduation ceremony for more than 3,000 Somali soldiers trained by Saudi Arabia in Galmudug, under a bilateral defense agreement the two governments signed in February. That agreement followed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, and the newly trained forces are intended to operate in northern Somalia, where they would counter both Somaliland and Puntland. Turkey and Qatar are also described as involved in the wider dispute taking shape around these developments.

On the other side of the divide, Puntland and Somaliland are both described as receiving strong backing from the United Arab Emirates. UAE-trained and -equipped Puntland Maritime Police Force units are reported to have routed federal forces in the region within a matter of weeks.

Defeat, Then Defiance

Beyond the immediate political theater, the visit is being read as a pointed signal: despite the recent battlefield defeat of his allied forces in Puntland, Mohamud remains present in Galkayo, and Puntland’s leadership – positioned only a short distance away – has been unable to prevent it.

The visit also appears aimed at shoring up support among clans in southern Galkayo who have resisted any federal military push into Puntland’s half of the city launched from their own territory. Weeks earlier, those same clans intercepted a weapons shipment that the federal government allegedly attempted to smuggle through to its allies in the northern half of Galkayo.

Parallel Meetings, Tightened Security

Puntland President Deni convened security officials on Monday night — the first night of Mohamud’s visit – while the federal president held his own meetings on the opposite side of the city. Security has been reinforced on both sides of Galkayo, and Puntland authorities have closed the crossing point with Galmudug, citing security concerns, according to the Somali Digest news website.

The closure comes amid concerns, as reported, that Mohamud spent the past year moving forces and weapons into Galmudug under the cover of counterterrorism operations.

A Divide With a Painful History

The visit underscores a widening rift between the federal government and Puntland. It also carries the risk of reigniting conflict between the two halves of Galkayo, a city that endured more than two decades of deadly clashes before both administrations agreed, during the term of former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, to cooperate on security and prevent a recurrence of that violence.

Comparisons to a Different Visit

Critics have argued that the visit has damaged Mohamud’s standing, casting him, in their view, as resembling a clan leader who visits only the half of a city where his own clansmen live without crossing to the other side. They point to a contrasting precedent: in 2018, then-President Farmajo visited both halves of Galkayo, meeting Galmudug’s regional president, Ahmed Duale Gelle, and Puntland’s regional president, Abdiweli Ali Gas, before the three leaders addressed residents together at a joint rally.

Others place the responsibility on the Puntland side, arguing that had Deni invited Mohamud to visit him in the Puntland-administered half of the city, Mohamud would have accepted.

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