Shebabs in Somalia [2/3]: the challenge of training the national army
Audio 02:20
Dola Ali Hussein, trainer in Baidoa, the base of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia.
© RFI / Florence Morice
By: Florence Morice Follow
3 min
This Tuesday, December 21, the United Nations Security Council is due to consider the renewal of the mandate of Amisom, the African Union mission responsible for fighting the Shebabs.
Mogadishu is pleading for his departure by 2023. Many consider this timetable unrealistic given the weaknesses of the Somali armed forces.
Fragile and under-equipped, they benefit from the training support of several foreign countries, including Great Britain.
Our special correspondent in Somalia, Florence Morice, visited the Baidoa Security Training Center (BSTC), opened in 2019 in cooperation with the British Army.
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From our special correspondent in Baidoa, in southwestern Somalia,
On the ground, a training course for the detection of IEDs, improvised explosive devices.
In the asymmetrical war that Somalia is waging against the Shebabs, this is one of the main threats that the soldiers must face.
"
Shebabs use a lot of FDI,
" explains
Hassan, called "
the animal
", one of the 20 instructors already trained by the British
.
They bury them in the ground, that's part of their strategy.
So here, we teach soldiers to recognize them, to avoid them and also to neutralize them.
"
Cap screwed on her veil, Dola Ali Hussein is also a trainer.
She advocates a more offensive attitude of the army and Amisom vis-à-vis the insurgents: “
What is needed is that we do not wait for the shebabs to attack our positions in order to retaliate and launch counter-attacks.
We must take the initiative to put them in difficulty on their positions, it is the best strategy
.
""
Today, you generally wait?
""
Yes, but here we learn to be more offensive.
"
A possible departure from the Amisom which divides
Among the trainees in the ranks on this day, a figure attracts attention. That of Abdelkrim Hassan, amputated of his right hand: “
It was the shebabs who did this to me. When I was still a civilian, I was already fighting them. So one day, I refused to pay one of their taxes and they cut my hand off. Afterwards, they came to me to say: "We know you hate us but we want you to join our ranks." I refused, so they jailed me.
"
It was 10 years ago. Abdelkrim Hassan then manages to escape and then enlists in the Somali army. For him, a departure from Amisom today would be premature: “
We need Amisom, until we become a strong army thanks to formations like this one. In the meantime, we must fight together.
"
Improving coordination between Amisom and the national army is also one of the objectives of the training delivered in this center.
But for British Lieutenant-Colonel King Evans, head of the center, what is most lacking in the fight against the Shebabs is political will: “
The main challenge for the Somali army is their political leaders.
In this center, we support them for operational and tactical training, but Great Britain is also mobilized in Mogadishu at a political level through our ambassador and with Amisom also to move things forward together.
"
Here, everyone therefore hopes that the page of the political crisis that has paralyzed Somalia for a year will eventually be turned.
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Africa
Somalia
Shebabs
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Shebabs in Somalia [1/3]: a deserter testifies