AMISOM Police Chief promises to boost capacity of police in the South West region
AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay said this during a visit to Baidoa on Tuesday, where he met with the Bay Regional Police Commissioner Colonel Mahad Abdirahman and the Minister for Disarmament and Rehabilitation of Militias, Hassan Hussein Mohamed.
Pillay further said the current recruitment exercise will absorb at least 200 new police officers, whom he added would boost the capacity of the police serving in the south west region as well.
Their discussions also focused on the needs of the Somali Police and the assistance coming from AMISOM.
The Deputy Police Commissioner Christine Alalo who was introduced to the Bay Regional team expressed satisfaction with the on going partnerships and emphasized on the need to further assistance to the local police, especially in training.
“We thank the regional government for allowing AMISOM to be here to help in Peacebuilding and reconstruction. We are here to follow up on some of the support we thought we would be giving to Somali Police Force especially in terms of training. We have been vetting and we really
want to train about 200 new recruits. We train SPF specifically to ensure that there is law enforcement, there is investigation of cases and specifically to prevent crime and that is the basics of police work,” said Alalo.
She added to say that AMISOM Police is planning to go into the newly recovered areas and set up police posts, deploy Somali police in order to maintain law and order.
“We shall be moving to other areas especially in the newly recovered areas to ensure that there is presence of police. We also need to work with the community so that we ensure there is peace. Without the community, we alone may not succeed. So we need the support of the
community. Extending our presence in those areas will really encourage the community,” she stressed.
The Bay Regional Police Commissioner Col. Mahad Abdirahman said Somali Police had benefited immensely from numerous training sessions offered by AMISOM Police Unit.
“AMISOM Police are here today to assess the needs of the Somali Police Force in South West region. This is the third time the AMISOM Commissioner is visiting us. We discussed on how to train Somali Police Force. They have been helping us in refurbishing police stations and training new recruits since we set up the new regional state of South West,” said Col. Abdirahman.
Col. Abdrirahman however emphasized on the need to go beyond the big towns to the villages.
He suggested that police posts be established in recently liberated areas of Tiyeeglow, Rabdhuure, Huddur and Kurtunwaarey.
The delegation from AMISOM Police later paid a courtesy call on the AMISOM Sector 3 Commander Yemane Gabre Mikael. The delegation included Police Spokesman Edwin Mugera and other senior officials.