Somalia president visits officer cadets training in Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda - Somali president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo paid a rare visit to the country's Armed Forces officer cadets undergoing jungle and survival training in Uganda on Tuesday afternoon, Garowe Online reports.

The president observed the training of the soldiers provided by Ugandan people's defense force (UPDF] at Kabamba military academy situated 201-Kms (125 miles), west of Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

Farmajo is in Uganda for two-day Africa now summit 2019 which was hosted by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni with the attendance of several heads of state from the continent.

Villa Somalia said in a statement that nearly 100 officers who are scheduled to wrap up their training in mid this year and subsequently return home to take part the rebuild and training of the armed forces.

In his encouraging speech, Farmajo said his government is committed to rebuilding the national army to stabilize the country and noted that such overseas training helps build their skills and confidence.

The officers thanked the president for the visit.

In the past 10 years, Somali security forces have been training by several countries, including, Turkey, the UAE, Uganda and the EU as AMISOM in process of handing over responsibility to the SNA by 2021.

Turkey opened its biggest overseas military base on September 2017 in Somalia’s capital, cementing its ties with the volatile but strategic Horn of Africa nation and building a presence in East Africa.

Last year, the UAE has disbanded training of hundreds of troops since 2014 as part of an effort boosted by an African Union military mission to defeat an Islamist insurgency and secure the country for the government.

The move came after Somali security staff seized $9.6 million meant to support SNA at Mogadishu airport on Sunday from a plane that had landed from the UAE. 

Somali officials maintain that the country has made progress and that it’s in a better position to take on more responsibility for the security of parts of the country.

The government has a number of foreign backers, including the U.S., who is assisting it in building a functional national army capable of taking on the fight against the militant al-Shabaab group.

GAROWE ONLINE