The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has vowed to intensify training and mentoring of Somali security forces (SPF), in order to enable them to take charge of the Horn of African nation’s security duties.
Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Simon Mulongo, on Sunday said the plan was aimed at building the capacity of the SPF to meet internationally acceptable standards.
“This year is going to see more intensified training, more intensified mentoring of those who are there (SPF officers) and that means recruitment, training and forming the officer core that will see the police leap from the current stage to a higher one,” Mulongo said in the capital Mogadishu.
AMISOM troops are expected to hand over security of key towns in the country to the Somali forces through a conditions-based transition plan. This will enable the SPF to take a lead responsibility as part AMISOM’s planned withdrawal from the country.
Under the exit strategy, some 1,000 soldiers were to be drawn from Somalia as of December 31 2017, with AMISOM deploying an extra 500 troops to strengthen training and mentorship of the SPF.
This move is in line with a United Nations Security Council resolution that was passed in August, which authorized AMISOM to begin the transfer of security responsibilities to Somali national security forces.
The UNSC also sanctioned the gradual reduction of AMISOM troops in Somalia during the transition period.
