Jubaland donates several goats to KDF for Eid-ul-Adha celebrations in Somalia

KISMAYO, Somalia - As a show of solidarity, the Jubaland administration donated several goats to the Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] contingent serving in Sector VI of AMISOM jurisdictions in Somalia, as part of appreciation to the forces for restoring peace in the region, during the Eid-ul-Adha celebrations over the weekend.

Sector VI command guards large sections of Kismayo, a seaport town that was once under the command of Al-Shabaab militants, before KDF troops managed to dislodge them in 2012, in an operation famously known as Sledge Hammer, which left hundreds of Al-Shabaab dead.

The donations were a gesture of "good working relationship" between Jubaland and KDF, the Kenyan forces said in a statement. Jubaland administration works under President Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe, a former Ras Kamboni Brigade commander, who is credited for helping KDF to secure Jubaland.

The goats, KDF said, are a gift to military, police and civilian components operating under AMISOM in Kismayu. The Eid-Al-Adha gift was received by KDF's Officer Commanding Headquarters Company, 2 Mechanized Infantry Battalion Major Andrew Mulyungi at the Kismayu New AirPort.

Major Mulyungi thanked the Jubaland Administration for the good gesture of brotherliness and urged all the security men and women to continue working together across the theatre. The Sector VI Commander, Brigadier Juma Shee Mwinyikayi, also lauded the gesture terming it a boost towards achieving the Amisom mandate.

"With such an environment of brotherhood and teamwork especially between the security forces and the local population, the peace and stability that we all so much desire will no doubt prevail," the commander said, while thanking the two parties for close cooperation.

Since flushing out Al-Shabaab from the seaport town, the KDF troops in AMISOM have been improving infrastructure, education, security, and other important sectors in Somalia, besides cushioning the needy in the country which is ranked amongst the poorest in the world.

The festivities come at the time the soldiers were ushering in a new Force Commander following the exit of Lt. General Tigabu Yilma, whose tenure expired last month. The new commander, Lt. General Diomede Ndegeya, comes from Burundi in Central Africa.

The top military officer in the mission, who is expected to lead the troops to exit from the war-torn nation in 2021, pledged to work closely with all troops for the sake of Somalia's stability. He had previously served in Mogadishu with the Burundian National Defense Forces.

“I have come to help Africa, to help Somalia, to help our brothers. I have previously been here a number of times, from 2007 to 2012,” said Gen. Ndegeya in his brief remarks a few minutes after arrival at the historical airport in the vicinity of Mogadishu.

AMISOM has played a key role in restoring peace and stability in sections of Somalia, even though Al-Shabaab controls large swathes of rural areas of central and southern Somalia. The significantly degraded group, however, cannot wage successful ground combat due to the heavy presence of AMISOM troops.

GAROWE ONLINE