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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Jul 30 2010 - 18:19:11 EDT
Hundreds of German-financed Somali police officers go missing
30.07.2010
Almost 1,000 Somali police have gone missing after their training was
financed by the German government. It is feared these officers will now join
forces with the Islamist militants Al-Shabaab.
In September 2009, the German government released $1 million (760,000 euros)
of funding to train Somali police officers. The training took place in
Ethiopia, and the new recruits were equipped with uniforms, weapons and
knowledge with the aim of sending them back into Somalia to try and keep
peace in the fractured country.
Two months after the completion of this training, almost 1,000 new police
officers have reportedly disappeared en route to the Somali capital
Mogadishu. It is thought highly likely that these deserters have left to
join opposition Islamist militia in Somalia.
In a statement, the German Foreign Office confirmed that funds were released
to train Somali police, and that in May 2010, 925 trained officers were
transported to Somalia under Ethiopian surveillance. They did not comment on
whether the police had deserted or not.
'Training the opposition'
Currently, the transitional Somali government is struggling to suppress the
militia, including Al-Qaeda sympathisers Al-Shabaab, who control as much as
two-thirds of the country.
Germany is one of several countries who have committed to training security
personnel as in indirect method of trying to help, without military
intervention. However, according to Ulrich Delius from the Society for
Threatened Peoples, the problem is that most of these newly trained recruits
"leave after a few months" to go and work for the armed opposition.
"You have to ensure that these people really stay in the official army or
police," Delius told Deutsche Welle. "Otherwise you are just training the
people you will be fighting in a few months."
A report published by the head of the UN monitoring group on Somalia,
Dumisani Kumalo in 2008, said 80 percent of trained security officers
deserted their posts, taking with them their weapons, uniforms and the
acquired knowledge.
Reasons for desertion
At a time when the transitional government is barely keeping a hold on the
north of Somalia, deserters may feel they are better off siding with the
militants than the government.
"No one is sure who will be the government of tomorrow… so they are
switching to survive," Delius said. "Also, you need a weapon and whether you
get it from the police or from the armed opposition, it does not matter."
He added that money was another strong incentive for joining the militants,
as "Somali warlords often offer more money than the official army or
police."
In this case, German media reports that the Somali police were waiting for
their pay from the German government before they disappeared.
Another reason for discontent may be due to the fact that the training took
place in Ethiopia – a country with a long, bloody history with Somalia.
"There's a very strong feeling against Ethiopia in all parts of Somali
society," said Delius.
Stabilization
The German government has come under fire for not only partnering with
Ethiopia, but also according to some sources, bypassing the correct United
Nations procedures and ignoring sanctions against Somalia.
However, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had informed both
the UN contact group on Somalia and the UN sanctions committee.
In recent weeks, the government has reconfirmed its commitment to aiding
Somalia, most recently at the African Union summit in Kampala. German
Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that the training of police in
Somalia was a "substantial contribution" to stabilizing the country.
Ulrich Delius argues however that all the projects for training security
forces will continue to have no effect until politicians start to
"understand the root of the problems in Somalia."
Author: Catherine Bolsover
Editor: Rob Turner
<http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_lupe/0,,5852655_ind_2,00.html>
Somalian militant with machine gunBildunterschrift:
<http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_lupe/0,,5852655_ind_2,00.html>
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Weapons have become
valuable commodities
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Militants riding on a tankBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der
Bildunterschrift:
<http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_lupe/0,,5852655_ind_1,00.html>
Opposition militia control two-thirds of Somalia
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