A small unit of nine Individual Police Officers (IPOs) from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), were deployed in Dhobley in the Lower Jubba region of Somalia, to start on capacity building activities.
The deployed AMISOM police officers are specialists in different fields and expected to work alongside Jubbaland State Police Force. They are tasked to train local police and expand their presence in the region.
According to Rex Dundun, the AMISOM Police Chief of Staff, who is also the Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, the nine officers will assist local police in Dhobley in developing their capacity through mentoring, training and support in infrastructural development.
The deployment of AMISOM Police to Dhobley is in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2431(2018), which calls for a reduction of uniformed personnel and increased presence of the AU Police in the country.
Dhobley and the rest of Lower Jubba region is manned and Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) under AMISOM mandate. The AMISOM Chief of Staff lauded the tremendous responsibility of KDF, securing Dhobley and ensuring the area and the region is safe. He noted it’s time to build the local police capacity, so that they can now take charge of the internal security of Dhobley and its environs before AMISOM exits Somalia.
The AMISOM police will be in Dhobley for the next one year, during which they will bolster the capacity and develop substantial police presence in the entire Lower Jubba region.
