Somalia-UAE row: Likely military funding gap as UAE halts support

THE MOVE by UAE to cut military training and salary payment to Somali National Army (SNA) marked a new low in diplomatic relations between the two countries but also drove home not so palatable news for over 2,000 Somali forces who have to date been under UAE support.

Somalia has not made public a formal statement stopping military support from UAE but a statement which the government did not seek to clarify from Defense Minister last week Mohamed Mursal added to the $9.6 million seizure delivered the final blow as UAE declared the military support programme ceased.

Mursal has however told Goobjoog News the remarks may have been taken out of context. “My statement last week was not properly understood,” Mursal told Goobjoog News. “We have to look at the bigger picture; we have the responsibility as a government to train and pay our soldiers. The minister however remained cagey on whether the government was officially cutting off the UAE support. “We are still on this matter and I will respond adequately later.”

The government has severally stated the country’s sovereignty is not subject to debate noting it is working to ensure it takes full responsibility of the security forces. National Security advisor Abdisaid Ali reiterated this position in a tweet Monday. “International law allows countries to coexist with one another without hostility. We expect other countries to respect our sovereignty.”

Somalia-UAE relations hit rock bottom as Mogadishu ends military deal

The soldiers who have been under UAE programme now have to contend with the change of things among them possible salary cuts and regular services just like other government supported soldiers.

An officer based at the UAE military training centre in Mogadishu who spoke to Goobjoog News on condition of anonymity owing to the sensitive nature of the issue said their salary scale stood much better than those who are under government payroll. Servicemen and women in the military earn salaries starting from $100.

SALARY SCALE

To understand the training system conducted by the UAE, the officer said forces fall under three divisions namely the regular army, commandos and Special Forces. The military base hosts a total of 1, 280 soldiers. Of these are 980 regular military officers, 238 commandos and 62 Special Forces.

In the regular army division, service men receive a monthly salary of $300, one star officers $380 while a three star earns $420. Platoon commander take home per month is $450.

Commandos get a higher pay with a regular officer earning $470 while two and three star officers are paid $520 and $570 respectively. A commander in the commando division is paid $620 a month.

Special Forces who are 62 in number are handsomely paid with the lowest (regular) taking $670 a month as two and three star receive $740 and $830 respectively while their boss has $930 monthly pay.

The new change of guard could see a dramatic change in these salary scales. The 2018 national budget did not factor in salaries for these soldiers hence the government will have to source for alternative resources to fill the gap left by the Emiratis.

GOOBJOOG NEWS