Somaliland Armed Forces

The Somaliland Armed Forces (Ciidanka Qaranka) are the main military forces in Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. They are composed of two active military branches: the army and the navy. There is no air force. The Somaliland Police Force is also a part of the internal security forces, but is subordinate to the military. The Somaliland Minister of Defence Ahmed Haji Abdi Adami currently oversees the armed forces.

Somaliland spends more on its armed forces than any other item, allocating 25% to 30% of revenues to the military. An article on the 2006 budget cited a figure of approximately 41 billion Somaliland Shilling, approximately $6 million. Due to Somaliland's lack of international recognition, the region is not allowed to procure weapons.

Personnel
The Somaliland Army has long operated without a formal rank structure. However, in December 2012, the regional defense ministry announced that a chain of command had been developed and would be implemented by January 2013.

As part of a limited defense arrangement, Ethiopia is training a small number of Somaliland officers at its Defense Engineering College. Since 2008, 50 Somaliland officers have graduated under this program.

Equipment
Due to a United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, which the semi-autonomous Somaliland region is internationally recognized as being a part of, the territory is not allowed to purchase weapons. Consequently, military officials from the region rely on repairing and modifying old equipment. Some also claim that weapons are at times delivered from Ethiopia and Yemen via the port of Berbera, usually during the night.

Regular Somaliland soldiers have been seen with SKS carbines and various versions of the AK-47.

Additionally, the Somaliland army operates an unknown number of the following equipment:
 * BM-21 mobile rocket launchers
 * BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missiles
 * BTR-50 tracked armored personnel carriers
 * T-34 medium tank
 * T-55 Main Battle tank

Navy
The Somaliland navy (Ciidanka Bada ee Somaliland) was formed in 2009. The headquarter is located in the coastal town of Berbera where its also a diving center run by foreign divers who train the Somaliland navy. The Navy operates with small speedboats mounted with guns, pick-ups, and trucks. Much of this equipment was provided by the United Kingdom, in an effort to combat piracy.