Hiiraan Online
Monday January 8, 2018
AMISOM Police Chief of Staff, Rex Dundun, speaks during a medal ceremony to mark the departure of the Nigerian contingent of police officers on January 6, 2018, in Mogadishu, Somalia. AMISOM Photo
Mogadishu (HOL) - African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said it will intensify training and mentoring of Somali police this year ahead of AU troop exit.
United Nations Security Council had passed a resolution in August last year, which authorized the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to commence the transfer of security responsibilities to the Somali national security.
Deputy Special Representative of the Chairman of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Simon Mulongo said the plan is aimed at building the capacity of the Somali police to International standard to enable it to discharge its security duties.
“This year is going to see more intensified training, more intensified mentoring of those who are there (Somali Police Force officers) and that means the recruitment, training and forming the officer core that will see the police leap from the current stage to a higher one,” Mulongo noted.
He pointed out that AMISOM has embarked on an Operation Readiness Assessment (ORA) of the police in the states to identify security needs as to ensure the effectiveness of the training and mentorship.
“The Operation Readiness Assessment entails finding out the levels of capacities and capabilities of the police force and we are looking at the age, how old are they; the training, how much training and which type of training and the numbers, the physical presence itself. We are looking at the equipment that they have, the logistics, command and control and the facilities that they have there,” he explained.
Recent months, AU has been training Somali police officers in Baidoa and Mogadishu on IEDs detecting a move intended to minimise Alshabaab's deadly Improvised explosive device attacks in the Horn of Africa nation.
Early last week, over fifteen police officers have completed a ten-day training course on countering improvised explosive devices in Mogadishu.
The training equipped the police officers with vital skills in preventing, disposing and countering IEDs attacks.
Since the defeat of Alshabaab, the militants used IEDs to attack against hotels, offices and military camps.