AMISOM holds Civilian-Military coordination workshop for Hiiraan region

A group of officers drawn from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali national security agencies have completed a two-day course in Beletweyne, aimed at improving coordination with humanitarian agencies.

The training workshop held by the regional Civil-Military working group took place in Beletweyne, the capital of Hiiraan region, from 6 – 7 May 2016.

The workshop was jointly organised by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

It aimed at providing guidelines for interaction between humanitarian actors and the security agencies in areas under the control of AMISOM, as well as promoting Civil-Military coordination and dialogue with humanitarian actors and security agencies in Somalia.

“The aim is basically for everyone of us in AMISOM to know what are we expected to do. And to have a common interaction without competition with each other,” said Chief Superintendent of Police Ezeona Ifeoma, from AMISOM Police.

A total of 26 participants among them AMISOM military and police officers from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi and Nigeria contingents; and their counterparts from the Somali Police Force (SPF) and the Somali National Army (SNA) attended the workshop.

Capt. Osman Ibrahim Abdi, a participant from the Somali National Army (SNA) said the training had equipped him with knowledge that would improve his ability to relate and cooperate with the civilian communities.