Over 8,000 Somali police officers trained by AU peacekeeping mission in 13 years

Mogadishu, Aug 26 (Xinhua) — The African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia has trained and mentored about 8,167 Somali police officers since the country’s first deployment in 2009, a senior official said.

The African Union Transition Mission (ATMIS) police chief of staff in Somalia, Rex Dundun, said recruited and trained police officers are now enforcing law and order in areas free of al-Shabaab control in the country.

“We have little time to prepare Somalia’s police to handle its internal security. It is a race against time,” Dundun said in a statement issued Thursday evening in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.

It is anticipated that the Somali Security Forces (SSF) will take over security responsibility from the AU mission by December 2024.

Trained and trained Somali police officers are from Jubaland, Hirschbale and the South-West, including Mogadishu.

Dundon said the training covers aspects such as management, election security, human rights, traffic management and community policing, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence.

As part of its infrastructure improvement initiative, the AU official said that ATMIS Police has constructed, refurbished and equipped around 20 police stations.

Dundon said AU Police has helped with efficient policing, setting up special desks in police stations, and developing police human resource databases at the federal and state levels.

He said the AU police had deployed personnel in areas such as Barawe, Garbahare and Dhusamareb, where there was no police presence, as part of operational support during the election.

“The Somali Police Force has the aspiration and goal to be able to handle the internal security of Somalia by December 2024,” Dundun said.

In 2017 the National Security Architecture (NSA), supported by the government and federal member states, recommended a police force of 32,000 personnel.

In line with the NSA, Somalia aims to recruit a sufficient number of police personnel not only to enforce law and order but also to secure free zones and population centres.

ATMIS Police is mandated to provide training, on-the-job advice and advice to the Somali Police Force.

The training also focuses on capacity building and recruitment of younger officers to replace the older officers. I