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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Nov 02 2010 - 16:36:05 EST
Kenya and Djibouti to train Somali security officers
By Lucas Barasa ( <javascript:void(0);> email the author)
November 2, 2010 at 17:08
More than 800 police officers will be trained in Kenya and Djibouti to help
bring peace in war-torn Somalia.
Two hundred cadets will undergo a three-month training in Manyani, Kenya,
while 600 others will be trained in Djibouti.
The African Union Commission deputy special representative, Wafula
Wamunyinyi, said 80 senior officers will be trained in South Africa and
Rwanda from January, next year.
Mr Wamunyinyi who was accompanied by African Union Mission to Somalia Police
Commissioner, Hudson Benzu, said all 7000 police officers currently serving
in Somalia also require training to conform with the international security
standards. The two officials said the relation between officers and members
of the public was important in restoring order.
The officers on the ground will also be increased to 10,000, once the
training process is complete. The African Union member states have been
piling pressure on developed countries to fund peacekeepers in Somalia.
Mr Wamunyinyi and Mr Benzu said the AU forces now control 50 percent of
Mogadishu.
"Since April, AMISOM troops have been taking ground from armed opposition
groups in the city by establishing series of combat outposts in areas
previously in the hands of insurgents," Mr Wamunyinyi said.
He said life in Somali capital is returning to normalcy with people moving
around.
The AU is also waiting UN mandate to increase AMISOM forces from current
8,000 to 20,000.
Mr Wamunyinyi said 12,000 troops, up from the current 8,000, will be in
Mogadishu and remaining ones deployed to other parts of the country.
"Our strengthened mandate allowing more AMISOM peacekeepers will ensure that
areas falling under AMISOM control will remain safe for Somalis. Our
partners in the Transitional Federal Government have a vital role to play in
the process of spreading law and order in Mogadishu and across Somalia.
That is why we are stepping up the pace of police training. Our recent
progress on the ground in Mogadishu shows that we are nearing a day when
police, not soldiers, ensure law and order in Somalia," Mr Wamunyinyi said.
Mr Benzu said areas recently taken from armed opposition groups need
community policing to beef up security.
"We want to give Somalia a strong and capable police force conforming to
international standards so that they can do what AMISOM forces have done to
date, namely provide law and order," Mr Benzu said.
The AU forces have also provided medical supplies and clothing to 1300
Somalis taking refuge around its camps. More than 1000 young mothers and
children are also targeted to benefit from improved healthcare.
The forces also provide free medical care to 12,000 Somalis monthly and
60,000 litres of safe drinking water daily.
Mr Benzu said the UN requirement that 30 percent of those recruited to
police be women was strictly being followed.
Mr Wamunyinyi said a number of African countries were willing to deploy
troops to Somalia. They include Guinea Bissau which has offered two
battalions and Malawi.
The AU has also requested Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Sierra Leone to
provide soldiers.
Currently only Uganda and Burundi have forces in Somalia.
Mr Wamunyinyi who is a former Kenyan MP hailed Somalia's Parliament for
confirming Mr Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as Prime Minister saying this would
boost the implementation of transitional clauses.
He also condemned the execution of two girls by Al Shabab for allegedly
being spies.
Somalia has been faced with internal strife since the ouster of dictator
Siad Barre in 1991.
The militant group Al Shabab, which control a swathe of the troubled country
is fighting the African Union-supported transitional government of Sheikh
Ahmed Sharif.
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