Writes Leo Odera Omolo

FRESH Somali trainees of the Transitional Government Forces have recorded success in different encounters with the al-Shabaab militants.

Speaking at their training camp at Al-Jazeera in Mogadishu, some of the trainees said they were eager and ready to fight the militants to restore sanity in their country.

In the last few weeks, the Ugandan-trained Somalis have been involved in several battles with the al-Shabaab.
Recently, the soldiers pushed the al-Shabaab out of their bases in Bondere with the support of the Africa Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

“I have been at the frontline to asses our trainees. They are holding their ground,” said UPDF’s Maj. Sam Wasswa, the AMISOM training officer.
Wasswa cited areas like the African Village in the centre of Mogadishu that is firmly held by the trainee fighters, despite the endless attacks from al-Shabaab.

He also dismissed reports that some of the soldiers within the force had defected to al-Shabaab.

“Such claims are not true. They are propagated by the enemy,” he said.
The peacekeepers, under the AMISOM, have so far trained over 3,800 Somali soldiers and policemen. Over 400 others will soon pass out.

At the completion of the nine-month basic training course in Uganda, the Somalis return home for an induction course at Al Jazeera.

“We need about 10,000 Somali soldiers to control Somalia, but it will take time to raise the number,” Wasswa said.
At the training camp, which also doubles as the base for the Burundian contingent, the mood is hopeful.

One of the soldiers described the training as a good move that will help them bring peace to their country.
“We shall be equipped to fight and liberate our country,” said one of the trainees.

Most of the training is carried out by the UPDF with the help of translators from Kenya and Somalia.

Currently, the thin line of Somali fighters on the ground is the major impediment to bringing total peace in Somalia, according to AMISOM commanders.

AMISOM has slowly taken control of a-third of Mogadishu, but their task has been hampered by lack of enough support from the transitional government forces.

“Our major mandate is to train them,” said Wasswa.

On Sunday, AMISOM spokesman Maj. Ba-Hoku Barigye, reminded the trainees of their responsibilities to defend their country.

“This is your country. No one will solve its problems. You have to do it yourself,” Barigye told the soldiers.

Meanwhile, UPDF spokesperson, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye, yesterday said three foreign fighters and seven al-Shabaab militants were killed at Masla Camp near Pasta factory in Mogadishu, when a Mitshubishi Pajero vehicle laden with explosives for a suicide mission, exploded accidentally.

In a statement issued yesterday, Kulayigye said in another incident, al-Shabaab fighters fired a mortar bomb in Hamar Weyne, close to Uruba Hotel, which landed on a mosque. The mortar bomb exploded, killing three civilians and injuring one.

In a related development, African Union and government troops launched an offensive against the Islamist rebels on Monday and repulsed them from two strategic locations.

Barigye said one of their soldiers was wounded in the latest clashes.

“One of our armoured vehicles was burned after it was hit, injuring the driver.

“But the government forces took control of the former interior ministry building area from the insurgents,” he told AFP.
At least 11 people, mainly militants, were killed in the fighting, officials said.

“We have pushed the enemy back from some of their locations in northern Mogadishu today. We killed four of their fighters and unfortunately three of our soldiers also died during the clashes,” said Hasan Abdulahi, a Somali security official.

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