AU recruits police officers to enhance security in Somalia

The Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has started recruitment of 200 police officers who are expected to enhance security in Somalia.

AMISOM said on Thursday that the exercise which is being conducted jointly with Somali Police in Kismayo will recruit young men and women who will undergo three-month police training before deployment to various parts of the federal state to boost security and maintain law and order.

AMISOM Police team leader, Superintendent Opara Augustus said the exercise is meant to shore up the capacity of the police force in the state to effectively enforce law and order.

"We are here in Kismayo to continue with the vetting process in Jubbaland and this is the third phase. We have done phase one and phase two," Augustus said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

"We are building the capacity of the Somali Police Force in the states and we are targeting 600 police officers to undergo the training. We already have 400 of which 200 were trained under phase one and another 200 under Phase Two. We are targeting another 200 in this vetting process," Augustus said.

The recruitment is part of an elaborate program funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and is aimed at improving security in the federal states.

The first and second phases have already been completed and 400 new officers deployed to various stations in Jubbaland.

The completion of the third phase will bring the total number of youths trained as police officers in Jubbaland, to 600.

The youths who turned up for the vetting exercise were subjected to both physical and medical checks to ascertain their readiness to undergo the rigorous training program.

Apart from physical training, the basic policing course will also focus on human rights issues and community policing among others.

Hassan Sheikh Muhamed Sahal, one of the recruits, thanked AMISOM and Somali Police for giving young people an opportunity to serve and contribute to peace and security in the country.

"I am happy to be in the third phase of the police recruitment exercise in Jubbaland. I am ready and glad to serve my country, and I am pleased with the ongoing vetting process. I pledge to defend my country and my people of Jubbaland," Sahal said.

source: Xinhua