Mogadishu (PP Report) — A Mogadishu-based group once known as the Hiraal Institute has rebranded itself as Saldhig, but critics say it continues to publish misleading reports about Puntland.
The group was founded by Hussein Sheikh-Ali, who describes himself on X as a “Twice Former National Security Adviser of Somalia”. He was reappointed in 2022 by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud before being removed from the post in 2025.
Saldhig recently published a report titled The Strategic Nexus Between Al-Shabaab and the Houthis and its Implications for the Region and Global Security. The report mentions Puntland three times and claims that named individuals are leading Al-Shabaab activities in Puntland State of Somalia. It also refers to weapons being shipped from Yemeni ports to Somalia by small boats, but provides no clear evidence except “anonymous quotes”.
While the Federal Government of Somalia has stayed quiet about a report by a former employee’s renamed office, Puntland government officials reject the claims in the Saldhig report. They say the region has weakened Al-Shabaab and is completing the second stage of a 14-month operation against Islamic State of Somalia in the Calmiskaad mountains.
Some pro-Puntland MPs have given weight to the report, which a senior Puntland State government official dismissed as “a canard by a shameless propagandist.”
© Puntland Post, 2026