Milxo on Edge: Gold, Strategic Minerals and Rising Security Concerns in Eastern Sanaag

Local sources report growing activity around the remote mining area, while claims of foreign involvement, aircraft movements and valuable mineral shipments remain unverified
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Araweelo News Network | Associated Online Agencies

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Somaliland/Somalia — (ANN) — Concern is growing over the security situation around Milxo, a remote settlement in eastern Sanaag, approximately 60 kilometres from Lasqoray on the Gulf of Aden coast, amid expanding gold-mining activity and renewed questions over the strategic importance of the surrounding Golis/Cal-Madow mountain area.
Milxo has become one of the most significant informal gold-mining centres in northeastern Somalia. A 2026 investigation by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime described the settlement as having expanded dramatically over the past decade, attracting thousands of miners and traders from Somalia and neighbouring countries.
Global Initiative
A mining frontier in a disputed and insecure area
The wider Sanaag region remains politically contested, with different areas controlled or claimed by Somaliland, Puntland and the Federal Government of Somalia, while the security situation includes the presence of armed groups in parts of the Golis mountain range. The European Union Agency for Asylum reported in June 2026 that the informal gold-mining sector around Milxo is affected by revenue collection by Al-Shabaab and ISIS-linked actors.
European Union Agency for Asylum
Local residents who spoke to Araweelo News Network | Associated Online Agencies said the situation around Milxo has become increasingly sensitive. They described aircraft reportedly arriving in the area and alleged that valuable minerals may be transported from the mining zone.
Araweelo News Network has not independently verified the identity of the aircraft, the operators of any airstrip, the ownership of any aircraft, or the nature and destination of alleged shipments.
Gold is established; other minerals remain a separate question
Gold production in Milxo is not merely a local allegation. Previous reporting has documented a substantial gold rush in the area, while more recent research describes Milxo as an important informal mining frontier.
Global Initiative
There have also been exploration proposals covering parts of Puntland and Sanaag that identified gold, tin, lithium, copper, platinum, titanium, tantalum and uranium among potential target minerals. A 2023 proposal prepared by the Australian company GeoResonance for Euro Mark Group described an exploration area of more than 1,000 square kilometres and listed uranium among the minerals to be investigated.
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However, the existence of an exploration target is not the same as confirmation of commercially recoverable uranium reserves, and Araweelo has found no independent evidence establishing that uranium is currently being mined or transported from Milxo.
The legacy of conflict
The mountains surrounding Milxo have a long history of insecurity. Research published by the Global Initiative links the emergence of Al-Shabaab’s presence in parts of the Golis Mountains to an earlier local armed uprising against Puntland authority, after which the militant group gradually absorbed elements of the insurgency. The same research identifies the area as having become an ungoverned space amid competing political and armed interests.
Global Initiative
This history is important because mineral wealth has emerged in an area where state authority, local ownership and armed-group influence remain contested.
Questions surrounding Türkiye
There is also growing interest in Somalia’s natural resources from Türkiye, although the available public evidence does not establish Turkish military operations in Milxo.
Somalia and Türkiye have significantly expanded their strategic relationship. A Somali government framework published in June 2026 says the two countries’ defence and economic agreement includes cooperation on maritime security and the development and training of the Somali navy.
Prime Minister Office – Somalia
Somali officials have also publicly discussed expanding cooperation with Türkiye into the mining sector, including geological mapping, mineral exploration, technical training and investment.
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That broader cooperation provides context for reports of Turkish interest in Somalia’s mineral resources, but it does not independently confirm that Türkiye is conducting military arrests, mining operations or mineral-security activities specifically in Milxo.
A strategic coastline
Milxo’s significance extends beyond gold.
Its location near the Gulf of Aden places the mining zone within a wider strategic corridor linking the Somali coast, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula. The combination of mineral resources, informal trade routes, weak state presence and armed-group activity has raised concerns about the possibility that mineral revenues could intersect with broader illicit networks.

A 2026 report by the African Academy of Diplomacy also highlighted environmental, social and human-rights concerns connected to increasingly intensive and poorly regulated gold mining in Milxo.
aad1.org
What remains unanswered
Several questions remain open:
Who controls the reported airstrip or landing facility?
Who owns or operates aircraft reportedly visiting the area?
What cargo, if any, is being transported?
Are the shipments gold, other minerals, equipment, or something else?
What companies hold legitimate exploration or mining rights in the area?
What role, if any, do Puntland, the Federal Government, Somaliland or local authorities play in regulating the activity?
Are armed groups receiving revenue from mining or mineral transportation?
Is there any direct Turkish involvement in security or mineral operations around Milxo?
These questions require documentary evidence, aircraft-registration information, satellite imagery, mining licences, customs records and independent geological verification.
ANN verification note
Araweelo News Network | Associated Online Agencies contacted local sources for information concerning developments around Milxo. Some sources requested anonymity because of security concerns.

allegations concerning aircraft movements, precious-metal shipments, uranium, foreign ownership and Turkish military activity have not been indepenjodently verified by Araweelo News Network. They are therefore presented as allegations or local reports rather than established facts.
What can be independently established is that Milxo is a major informal gold-mining centre in a politically contested and security-sensitive part of Sanaag, and that Somalia’s mineral potential—including gold and other strategic minerals—has attracted increasing domestic and international attention.
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Araweelo News Network | Associated Online Agencies will continue to monitor developments and seek further documentary evidence concerning the reported aircraft activity, mining operations and security situation in the Milxo–Golis mountain area.

Keywords: Milxo Sanaag, Milxo gold mining, Sanaag minerals, Golis Mountains, Cal-Madow, Somaliland, Puntland, Gulf of Aden, Somalia gold, uranium Somalia, Türkiye Somalia, mining in Sanaag, Lasqoray