Somali police rallies regional support

Musanze – A senior officer of the Somali National Police Force, Col Ahmed Barre Jam’ale, has appealed to regional states to help maintain the current state of peace in Mogadishu, by strengthening security mechanisms to save the country from terror attacks.He was speaking at the closing of the Intermediate Command and Staff Course (ICSC), for senior police officers from post conflict countries attended by officers from South Sudan, Somalia and Burundi. It was organized by Rwanda National Police (RNP).“We have hope for peace now, there are remnants of Al Shabaab in the outskirts of Mogadishu, but with regional collaboration, we shall route them out...we cannot have war and insecurity on one side of the content and have peace on the other,” Col. Barre said.The semblance of peace has been brought to the Somali capital through the assistance of an AU-facilitated peacekeeping mission AMISOM, together with Somali troops.AMISOM is composed of Burundian and Ugandan troops.The three-month course that ended yesterday was attended by 40 senior police officers, including 20 from RNP. It took place at the National Police Academy in Musanze District.Rwanda has over the years helped in building the capacity of Somali armed forces. Col Azuma Mangar Chap from the South Sudan Police Services (SSPS), asked the regional states to keep the momentum of collaboration to carb cross border crime and insecurity.“We have gained skills from this wonderful course. We leant from Rwanda police, the culture of good service delivery and professionalism they exhibit is exemplary,” Azuma said The course was conducted under the auspices of Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO), which is currently chaired by Rwanda’s IGP, Emmanuel Gasana.The deputy IGP, Stanley Nsabimana, observed that regional police officers should train together and come up with strategies to fight transnational crime.“You shall put under consideration, the importance of intellect, inquisitive mind, knowledge and ability to think outside the box so you can meet the challenges of modern dynamic and democratic policing,” Nsabimana said. The course focused on international humanitarian law and human rights, gender issues in policing, crime prevention and reduction strategies, police practical procedures, among others.