Bartamaha (Nairobi):- 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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Source:-Theeastafrican.

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