UK opens army training facility for Somali forces in South West State

The UK on Saturday (8th June) officially opened a training facility in Somalia for the Somali National Army (SNA), as the country readies to take up security responsibilities.

The British Embassy in Somalia announced that “the new centre will help develop Somali-led security forces and promote long-term stability and security in the country.”

The training facility is based in Baidoa, the capital of Bay region in southwestern Somalia.

Somalia has been dogged by an Islamist insurgency for over a decade, perpetrated by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab militant group. The terror group has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions of others.

With an unequipped and untrained security force, the international community moved into Somalia to help in the fight against terrorism. The UK, US and African Union have set up missions in Somalia.

With gains made in the fight against Al-Shabaab, various security agencies including the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) plan to systematically withdraw the troops from the Horn of African country.

The withdrawal of AMISOM troops is due to start in October this year, with the force expected to be fully out of the country by December 2020, handing over security responsibilities to the SNA.

Defeating Al-Shabaab is a key agenda of President Mohamed Abdullahi’s government, one he has expressed confidence he would achieve achieve by the end of his term in 2020.