State forces to be integrated into national army and police in 3 months
Forces from regional administrations will be integrated into the national army or form part of the state police within the next three months in line with the new national security architecture.
The recommendations contained in a document seen by Goobjoog News also seeks to fast-track the integration programme which started during President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration as Somalia aims to bolster its security structure ahead of African Union forces draw-down next year.
The integration programme will be conducted by the National Integration Commission whose formation is to be completed by the end of June this year. The recommendations follow a two days meeting in Mogadishu by political and security advisors of the Federal and State governments.
National army
According to the new security architecture taking into consideration budgetary constraints, Somalia shall have at least 18,000 troops excluding the Special Forces (Danab), Air Force and Navy. The training of these forces shall be harmonized and unified under a Somali curriculum ‘to revive national training institutions, which shall be re-equipped and re-supplied’.
Currently different divisions of Somalia’s security forces receive training from the Amisom, Britain, US and the United Arab Emirates while Turkey is set to open a military and police academy in Mogadishu this year which is expected to train at least 500 soldiers in every phase.
State security
To realise a coordinated security approach, the new roadmap which also saw the saw the formation of a new National Security Council which is headed by President Mohamed Farmaajo notes the security of the Federal Member States (FMS) will fall under the ambit of the state police or with the support of the Somali National Army (SNA).
The 18,000 SNA force shall be distributed across the existing SNA sectors but which shall be re-drawn to align with the FMS boundaries based on geographic and military need. This task, the advisors propose will be completed in six months starting June this year.
The recommendations also include the formation of 500 Danab forces in each SNA sector with the input of state governments and will report to the Danab Brigade headquarters in Baledogle. Danab force was put up in 2013 specially trained by US elite forces for special operations and intelligence gathering.
Police force
The Somali Police which is 32,000 force strong will be distributed at state and federal level with a number of this forming the military police (Darwish) which will work with SNA in times of national crisis.
The integration programme will also involve disarmament, demobilization and re-integration of armed personnel who do not meet the requirements for inclusion into any security forces to mitigate any risks of extremist groups recruiting former security forces personnel.
Forming a professional security force was one of President Farmaajo’s campaign pledges especially to combat the militant group Al-Shabaab and ensure the country’s territorial integrity.