Puntland Police Trainees
Senior officials from Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland today officially opened training of 300 police recruits at the Armo Police Academy in Armo district of Bari region.
During the highly organized ceremony, the new recruits were told to serve their homeland and fight against terrorists, pirates and human traffickers.
The new trainees were recruited from across all the regions of Puntland, according to Puntland Interior Minister General Abdilahi Jama Ilkajir.
Minister of Security Colonel Khalif Isse Mudan said that they are confident these new police recruits will improve the security of Puntland and warned the threat from al-Shabaab is still high. He also stressed the need for closer cooperation between the police and the Puntland community to prevent terrorist attacks.
"Puntland is on the path of peace, development and state building," said the Minister Ilkajir during the ceremony. He also he praised both Puntland police and military forces for their role in defending the region's security.
"The Puntland people are brave people. They want to defend their existence and statehood at any cost. We defended our territory from numerous allied forces since 1991...today we want to defend against the sinister enemy of al-Shabab and we will do it," the minister told recruits.
Minister of Finance Farah Ali Jama also promised that salaries and bonuses would be paid monthly payment.
