Fresh reports revealed by sources in Somali and Kenya’s People Daily indicate that there is existence of a large-scale military training program, administered and financed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Somalia’s Galmudug State, aimed at training more than 5,100 recruits amid indications that they could eventually be transferred to participate in the conflict in Sudan.

According to a report published by the New Somalia newspaper, a high-level Saudi military delegation visited two training camps in the Guriel area on June 29.
This activity follows the defense and military cooperation agreement signed by Mogadishu and Riyadh on February 9, the full details of which have yet to be disclosed.

A Somali government source, who requested anonymity, said that the training program is under direct Saudi supervision and financing.

The total number of recruits stands at 5,107 soldiers, around 2,000 of whom were recruited from Puntland, while the remainder come from various regions of Somalia.

Operational oversight and training are being carried out by a group of foreign mercenaries of multiple nationalities, including Romanians, Ukrainians, South Africans, and Colombians. The first phase of the training program is scheduled to last nine months.

According to the source, the camp operates away from official public announcements in the heart of Galmudug State, noting that intensive military movements and noticeable air activity at Guriel Airport (GUO) coincided with the arrival of the recruits.

Testimonies from local sources, including that of a Somali officer associated with the program, suggest that the primary purpose of this force may not be its integration into the structure of the Somali National Army, but rather its transfer to Port Sudan to support the Sudanese Armed Forces and the jihadist battalions allied with the Sudanese military.

These reports have heightened concerns among human rights and regional circles over the possibility of a worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, which the United Nations classifies as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with around 34 million people—equivalent to two-thirds of the population, in urgent need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the continuing war.

The disclosure of this training program comes at an exceptionally sensitive regional moment, coinciding with U.S. efforts within the United Nations Security Council to prevent the extension of support for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia beyond next year, a move that could bring the mission’s operations to an end and leave a security vacuum that regional powers are seeking to address.