President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud used the graduation of a new class of Somali army officers to underline the government’s central security promise: the country must eventually be defended by its own forces.
At a ceremony in Mogadishu, Mohamud reviewed a guard of honor and watched the newly trained officers parade before urging them to lead with discipline, integrity and patriotism. The event was ceremonial, but the stakes are operational. Many graduates are likely to serve in units fighting Al-Shabaab or taking over positions from international forces.
The president also highlighted Türkiye’s role in training and equipping the Somali National Army. Since opening the TURKSOM academy in Mogadishu in 2017, Ankara has become one of Somalia’s most important defense partners, training thousands of soldiers, noncommissioned officers and commanders.
That partnership has helped Somalia rebuild military institutions hollowed out by decades of conflict. Turkish support extends beyond instruction to equipment, infrastructure and advisory assistance.
The graduation comes as international peacekeeping forces continue a gradual drawdown. That transition increases pressure on Mogadishu to field units that are not only numerous, but professionally led, supplied and accountable.
Training ceremonies offer visible evidence of progress. They do not solve the army’s enduring challenges: logistics, command cohesion, corruption risks and the need to hold territory after offensives.
Still, the government views each new cohort as part of a longer shift from externally supported security to national responsibility. For Mohamud, the message to the graduates was also a message to Somalia’s partners: the state intends to build an army capable of carrying the burden itself.
