By Mustafa Osman Farah
MOGADISHU, Somalia – A chilling pattern is stalking the Somali National Army (SNA). On the bloody frontlines against the extremist group Al-Shabaab, experienced commanders – men trained, equipped, and desperately needed – are dying at an alarming rate. But increasingly, their deaths aren’t just battlefield tragedies; they bear the hallmarks of targeted assassinations, potentially orchestrated with help from inside their own ranks, leaving a nation grappling with grief and the terrifying possibility of endemic betrayal.
The loss cuts deep. Many of these fallen officers were young, under 40, shaped by the civil war’s chaos yet fiercely patriotic, choosing the perilous path of defending their nation against a relentless insurgency. Their deaths represent a devastating “brain drain” of tactical expertise and leadership, a setback meticulously cultivated through years of international support and training, now hemorrhaging under suspicious circumstances.
The ongoing offensive against Al-Shabaab in the strategic Shabelle and Hiiraan regions – areas symbolic of the nation’s fight for survival – was meant to deliver decisive blows. Victories here are crucial. Yet, the triumphs are being overshadowed by the gut-wrenching cost, exacerbated by intelligence failures and security protocols seemingly incapable of protecting the very leaders guiding the fight. The presence of top brass like the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the Military Court Judge on active frontlines, while perhaps intended to boost morale, raises grave questions. In this asymmetric war, leadership isn’t just about AK-47s on the battlefield; it’s about strategic command, preserved and protected from Al-Shabaab’s insidious tactics of infiltration, sabotage, and targeted killings.
A Trail of Suspicious Deaths
The concern escalated sharply this month (April 2025). Colonel Nuur Farey, Commander of the symbolically named 14th October Battalion (commemorating the horrific 2017 Mogadishu truck bombing), wasn’t killed by enemy fire. He met his end not on the battlefield, but under the chillingly suspicious circumstances of being murdered within his own fortified camp. Initial reports suggest it wasn’t a random infiltration but a cold, calculated, and potentially internally orchestrated hit that has sent shockwaves through the military establishment.
Farey’s death is tragically not an isolated incident. It echoes a deeply worrying trend. In the past year alone, sources indicate more than a dozen SNA commanders have perished under questionable circumstances. Some were ambushed after their positions were inexplicably leaked; others fell victim to surprise attacks that screamed of advanced, intimate knowledge of their movements and security details.
The ghost of Commander Hassan Tuure looms large. In January 2023, this respected leader of the elite, US-trained Danab Special Forces was killed during a fierce pre-dawn assault by Al-Shabaab on Gal’ad. Later findings reportedly confirmed the grim suspicion: the assault succeeded precisely because Tuure’s location had been fatally compromised. The chilling conclusion, whispered in security circles: Al-Shabaab likely had help from trusted insiders.
The pattern continued just this past week. Captain Asad Osman, another Danab unit Commander, was killed during counter-offensive operations near Aboorey, Hiiraan. Reports, though unconfirmed, suggest even the CDF was present in the operational area around that time. It begs the haunting question reverberating through the ranks and corridors of power: Why are Somalia’s most vital military leaders so exposed, particularly when infiltration is a known, omnipresent threat?
Fighting an Enemy Within?
Somalia has invested heavily, with international partners, in building a professional fighting force exceeding 80,000 trained personnel, supplemented by local militias (Ma’awisley). Layers of command and security protocols exist on paper. Yet, the reality on the ground suggests a terrifying vulnerability, a potential infection within the system.
The evidence points towards a deeply disturbing possibility outlined starkly by security analysts: the SNA isn’t just fighting Al-Shabaab across the battle lines; it may be critically compromised from within. The loss of commanders like Farey, Tuure, and Osman isn’t just a tactical setback; it erodes trust, cripples morale, and fuels fears that the enemy is already inside the wire.
For a nation desperate for stability and victory against extremism, these deaths are more than statistics. They are stolen futures, broken families, and strategic blows dealt not just by the enemy without, but potentially by the traitor within. The question now is not only how to defeat Al-Shabaab, but how to purge the shadows that seem to be fatally undermining Somalia’s fight for its very soul.