The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union
Commission for Somalia Ambassador Francisco Caetano Jose Madeira during a
press conference at a Nairobi hotel on November 17, 2016. PHOTO |
DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The African Union troops serving in Somalia
will leave the country starting 2018. The AU mission has trained at
least 20, 000 Somali soldiers ahead of the planned exit, the head of the
mission has said.
The Special
Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for
Somalia Ambassador Franscisco Caetano Madeira said that the exit
strategy depended on the number of trained Somali soldiers to take over
from them, credible 2016 elections, and a successful de-radicalization
drive among the youth.
“Our exit
should be judged on us having invested in Somalia to take over from us.
There is an effort, but there is a huge logistical challenge,” Mr
Madeira in a media briefing at a Nairobi hotel.
“We
need to give guns to these people, because a soldier is prepared to
fight. We should capacitate the Somalia army and they should be well
prepared to take over from us.”
The
African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) previously trained 10,900
Somali soldiers with the 100 per cent increase to 20,000 troops coming
as the mission prepares to exit.
The
exit strategy formulated by the AU’s Peace and Security Council calls
for the staggered withdrawal of 22,000 Amisom troops, including Kenya’s,
beginning October 2018 and be completed by the end of 2020.
The troops were deployed to Somalia in 2007 to
defend the government against the insurgent Al-Shabaab group affiliated
to al-Qaeda.
CREDIBLE ELECTIONS
In
the briefing, Ambassador Madeira said that the Amisom team was prepared
for a peaceful, credible elections this year even after delays in the
presidential vote that had been slated for October 30.
So far, he said, 43 senators have been elected save for the 11 from Somaliland.
The
elections for the 275 members of the Lower House were ongoing in all
the capital cities of Jubaland, South West, Puntland, Galmudug, and the
recently formed HirShabelle states.
“The
Al-Shabaab has tried to impede this process, but it is still ongoing.
In all these states, there has been great enthusiasm by the Somali
public,” said Mr Madeira.
The ambassador told off African states to 'keep off our troops” in what he said was using them as a political bargaining chip.
“Member
states should use other means to obtain whatever political support they
want, but please leave our troops alone. We have problems already, do
not add more,” the mission head told journalists.
Several
member countries including Kenya and Uganda have threatened to pull
troops out of Somalia following disagreements that included a bid by the
European Union to cut funding to the mission.
The
mission head said that Amisom would not let Al-Shabaab regain
strongholds that were previously taken over from them after the Amisom
and non-Amisom troops leave.
AL-SHABAAB MENACE
“Al-Shabaab has the entire Somalia to attack and destroy,” Mr Madeira said.
“We, the Amisom, have the entire Somalia to protect and defend despite the very limited resources.”
This,
he said, could only be achieved if the Somali institutions and its
people are made aware and empowered to deal with the dangers of the
insurgent group.
“We need to empower
and capacitate the Somali people and institutions to gather and act on
intelligence by befriending the population. The youth must be told the
dangers of the Shabaab on themselves and their own country,” said the
ambassador.
Mr Madeira said that
Amisom was ready and prepared to receive the thousands of refugees that
Kenya said it will send back to Somalia after closing the Daadab refugee
camp.
The Kenyan government has said
that the camp- the largest in the world with 285,000 refugees- was a
hideout for terrorists and that Somalia had relative peace that the
refugees could help build the once-vibrant nation to life.
REFUGEE CRISIS
Kenya
on Wednesday extended the November 30 closure deadline by six months on
a request by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
“When they come, we will take them in,” said Mr Madeira.
Despite the huge challenges, Mr Madeira said, the Amisom team had done a good job.
“As
you look for what is going wrong, also look for what is going right-
and I can assure you that a lot is going right,” Mr Madeira said.
No comments :
Post a Comment