A police security training workshop was held today at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport and attended by representatives of the African Union, European Union, United Nations, the government of Uganda as well as Somalia's Police Commissioner Sharif Sheikh Una and Deputy Interior and National Security Minister Abhikakim Guled.
The workshop, the first to be held in Somalia, was designed to benefit the Somali police who are battling al-Shabaab insurgents, excessively high crime rates, assassinations of government officials, and a flood of internally displaced people (IDP) who have migrated to the capital in search of food and water.
‘‘This is the first session of its own kind to take place in Somalia and we hope to see a repeat of similar sessions here in Mogadishu,’’ Deputy Minister Abdihakim told Somalia Report.
Once trained, the police have been tasked with a variety of roles.
‘‘We want the Somali police to take over positions placed into control by the joint government and African Union peacekeeping (AMISOM) forces in Mogadishu and a restore order and sanity into the government controlled areas of Mogadishu,’’ Abdihakim added.
The Somali police have already taken over Shaqala base that used to house the AMISOM forces and have a plan to cover more areas.
‘‘We have now decided that 50 police will be deployed at every police checkpoint,’’ the official told Somalia Report.
In addition to maintaining positions seized from al-Shabaab, the police have been tasked with protecting the IDPs.
‘‘The Somali police now need to participate in the delivery of food to the Somali IDPs by providing security to the food stores and trucks. Also, and most importantly, they need to protect the IDP camps that are situated in the government controlled side of Mogadishu,’’ said a member of the AU police component delegation.
An international effort
So far, training for the Somalia Police has been an international effort. Their training was sponsored by the European Union and their salaries paid for by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Japan donated $10 USD million to boost the police operations and capabilities.
Meanwhile 1,300 police officers are undergoing training at the General Kahiye police training base and hundreds others are undergoing wider training in Ethiopia, Uganda and Djibouti.
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) police normally receive their salaries in a unsystematic and sporadic manner. They are not paid on a monthly basis but receive money after four, seven, or even nine months that ranges from $500 to $1200 USD which is slightly higher than the TFG military which receives $100 USD per month.