Reports have emerged that hundreds of newly trained Somali National Army soldiers left the Xananbuure military training camp in Galgaduud Region and crossed into Ethiopia, where some were reportedly detained.
The incident comes less than two weeks after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud attended a graduation ceremony at Xananbuure on August 16, where newly trained Somali soldiers completed nearly a year of military training. The president urged the graduates to uphold military discipline, protect the country and carry out their duties .
nearly 200 Somali soldiers crossed into Ethiopia’s Somali Region under unclear circumstances. The soldiers were reportedly detained in areas near Shilabo and Wardheer, with some allegedly intercepted in Neefkuceshe while travelling in seven Toyota Probox vehicles. Another group was reportedly detained in the Caleen area.
It is also unclear whether the soldiers left the Xananbuure camp without authorization, whether they were carrying weapons, or how they were able to leave the military facility and travel toward the Ethiopian border.
The reasons behind their departure have not been officially established. Reports have raised possible questions about salaries, conditions at the training camp and the process of assigning newly trained soldiers to operational units. However, these claims have not been confirmed by the Somali government or by the soldiers themselves.
The incident raises broader questions about the transition from military training to formal deployment, including how newly graduated soldiers are registered, assigned to units and transferred from training facilities into the national military structure.
The reported detention of Somali soldiers inside Ethiopia also raises questions about coordination and security along the Somalia-Ethiopia border.
For now, the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear. The number of soldiers involved, the reason they left the camp, whether they were armed, who arranged their transportation and where they intended to go are all questions that require official clarification.
