A statement reported by the official WAM news agency said the move was a response to the seizure of a UAE-registered private aircraft by Somali security forces at Mogadishu airport and the confiscation of USD9.6 million destined for Somali soldiers.
It said the programme to improve the capabilities of the Somali army began in 2014 and included the construction of three training centres, a hospital, and the UAE paying the salaries of 2,407 Somali soldiers.
The deterioration in relations between the UAE and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) is widely seen as product of a dispute over the UAE’s decision to build a military base near the port of Berbera in the separatist region of Somaliland.
