The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will step up the training and mentoring of Somali police officers during the transition period to prepare them for handover of security responsibilities. Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, Christine Alalo, said the trainings will be done in all the federal states to empower Somali police officers to take charge of the country's security. Speaking during the closing ceremony of a six-day in-Mission training course on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), for AMISOM Police officers, on Sunday, Ms. Alalo urged the participants to ensure the objective of establishing a strong and professional police force in Somalia is realized. "Whatever you have learnt from here, we expect you to get it out to our counterparts, the Somalis, who you are mandated to build their capacity," Ms. Alalo stated at the function attended by other senior AMISOM Police officers, among them, Daniel Ali Gwambal, AMISOM Police Coordinator for Operations, and the Acting AMISOM Police Training Coordinator, Leon Ngulube. The refresher course, the fourth this year, is aimed at improving the knowledge of officers on SGBV matters to help Somalia tackle the crime. More than 100 police officers have undergone the training this year.

Ms. Alalo noted that proper training and mentoring of the Somali Police Force (SPF) is crucial, adding that it will enable AMISOM handover security responsibility to competent officers.

"This training comes at the right time when we are talking about the transition. We must ensure that we have the right people who can deliver. The right people who can bring out the information. The right people who can guide the Somali police about professional policing,” Ms. Alalo observed.

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During the training, the officers were taken through a number of topics which included AU Instruments and Conventions, police activities in Somalia, introduction to international humanitarian law, Somali legal system, forms and types of SGBV and traumatic effects and prevention of SGBV.

Ms. Alalo urged the participants, comprising personnel from the Formed Police Units (FPU) and Individual Police Officers (IPOs), to share with their colleagues and Somali police counterparts the knowledge acquired from the training.