AMISOM to help Somali Police Force secure Mogadishu during Ramadan

AMISOM police yesterday deployed officers in Mogadishu city to reinforce security during the holy month of Ramadan.

The officers will work hand in hand with the Somali Police Force officers to ensure members of the public go about their normal activities without disruptions.

The officers, comprising personnel from the Formed Police Units (FPUs) of Uganda and Nigeria, and Individual Police Officers (IPOs) were dispatched after a briefing by the Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, Francis Ayitey Aryee, and AMISOM Police Acting Operations Coordinator, Emmanuel Mukama.

The officers will be stationed in key and strategic locations as part of new measures to help curb insecurity and maintain peace during Ramadan.

“Experience has shown that in the month of Ramadan, whereas our brothers and sisters engage in communing with Allah through fasting and prayers, threats against them are heightened. We have done a threat assessment and analysis and have put in place strategies captured in an operational plan to enable us provide protection and security to the communities and residents of Somalia during the month of Ramadhan,” Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, Francis Ayitey Aryee said.

Apart from routine patrols, the officers will also set up snap check points and, depending on intelligence, take part in cordon and search operations. The measures are aimed at boosting security in Mogadishu and preventing terrorist activities by Al Shabaab militants.
Mr Mukama, the Acting AMISOM Police Operations Coordinator, reiterated that the team was being deployed in a support role.

“We are going to deploy them to support the Somali Police Force in town. There were areas that were allocated to the Somali Police Force after Mogadishu was zoned into four areas, of which, one was given to the Somali Police Force. Our mandate is to support the Somali Police Force,” Mukama said.

In March, during a joint press briefing, the AMISOM Police Commissioner, Anand Pillay, and his Somali counterpart, Maj. Gen. Mohamed Sheikh Hamud, hinted at plans to come up with a joint security master plan for the Ramadan period.