September 3, 2015, Somalia defense minister General Abdikadir Sheik Ali Dini witnessed the passing of contingent of newly trained soldiers from the national army.
The government of United Arab Emirate (UAE) funded the training and has been Somalia’s partner in fighting against Al Shabaab and a major donor towards stabilization process in the country.
According to minister Dini, the training is a milestone in restricting and building a strong National Army. The minister emphasized the importance of getting well trained soldiers with necessary skills.
He gave word of advice to the soldiers, saying “ you are required to serve to the Somali citizens, to protect them, to uphold their basic rights, and you should not infringe their rights, this training is good step forming the basis of forming strong national army”.
Conclusion of the military training comes a time when the horn of Africa nation is faced with huge challenge of terrorism. The Al Qaeda branch in Somalia has crumbled various sectors of economy and they are fighting to overthrow the government to install a strict Sharia rule in the country.
AMISOM which is comprised of troops from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Djibouti have been the on fore front in fighting the Islamist group.
AMISOM has weakened Al Shabaab significantly and the soldiers who have completed their training will greatly complement their effort in eliminating the Al Shabaab militants.
