By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
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MOGADISHU, 29 Oct Major General Mohamed Ali Barise today officially took over as Chief of Staff of the Somali National Army (SNA) from his predecessor, Major General Madey Nuuray Sheikh Ufurow, returning to the post he previously held from 2019 to 2020.
Major General Barise was appointed on 25 October 2026 and returns to the Army’s senior leadership with more than two decades of experience in command, operations, defence policy and regional security cooperation.
The handover ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Handover Committee, Major General Mahmoud Sheikh Ali (Dable Baylood), and officers from the SNA’s commands and units.
The Chairman commended the efforts of Major General Ufurow during his tenure, praising his dedication to duty. He also congratulated the new Chief of Staff, wishing him success in fulfilling his responsibilities with integrity.
During his first tenure from 2019 to 2020, Major General Barise led reforms in the Army’s command structure, training, doctrine and operational capability.
Before his new appointment, he commanded the Joint Operations Command Center in Mogadishu, coordinating multi-agency and multinational security operations across Somalia.
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From 2024 to 2026, he served as Military and Defence Attaché at the Somali Embassy in Kenya, where he advanced bilateral and regional defence cooperation.
In 2023, he was tasked with establishing the Frontline States Task Force, bringing together Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. That same year, he served as Senior Defence Advisor at the Ministry of Defence.
He has also served as Deputy National Security Advisor to the President (2022–2023) and as Senior Military Advisor to CTSAMVM in South Sudan, where he supported ceasefire monitoring under the IGAD framework.
Major General Barise is a graduate of the National Defence College of Kenya. He holds a Master of Science in Defence and Strategic Studies from Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.
His military training includes the Maneuver and Staff Course at Fort Benning in the United States and the Captain Career Course in Uganda. He was commissioned from the Sudan Military Academy.