24 Nov 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- President Sharif travels to Addis Ababa (Source: Radio Mogadishu Shabelle)
- Somalia’s Abdiweli participates in interactive dialogue answers public questions (Source: Office of the Prime Minister)
- Kenyan Soldier dies 11 injured in suspected Al Shabaab attack (Source: the Standard Capital FM News)
- Somali premier Dr. Abdiweli Ali: there are criminals in Somali government asks for tax (Source: Mareeg Online)
- Somali MPs reject joint committee on implementation of political road map (Source: Shabelle Media)
- 5 al Shabaab members escape the terrorist group in Garbaharay (Source: Radio Bar-kulan Radio Mogadishu)
- Ethiopia: East African leaders meet on Somali security offensive (Source: Afrique Jet)
- UK paratroopers train Sierra Leonean soldiers for Somalia peacekeeping mission (Source: Defense Web)
- Ethiopian intervention in Somalia risks worsening crisis: UN (Source: AP )
PRESS STATEMENT
Somalia’s Abdiweli participates in interactive dialogue, answers public questions
23 Nov – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 438 words
The Prime Minister of the Somalia Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali took part in a historic gathering organized by the Centre for Research and Dialogue, CRD. The dialogue was the first of its kind to be held in Somalia. The PM answered questions posed by the participants some of which were from the Somali Diaspora following the dialogue using live internet feed.
A number of civil society groups, business community, women groups, traditional elders and intellects were the participants in the dialogue. The PM was answering questions from present participants and Somali Diaspora who were submitting their questions via face book and twitter applications. The occasion was colourfully organized and all Somali media was lively reporting the gathering. The program was coordinated by Awil Dahir from Universal TV Station.
The Prime Minister touched on the security situation, the gains made and the obstacles in hand. Dr. Abdiweli specially emphasized on the security development made by the TFG, the good relations between the government and local administrations, the good governance, the fight against graft and corruption and the humanitarian situations. After the report, the PM delved into the question and answer session.
This was the first time a Somali leader was exposed to the public and answered their questions. The key element the PM talked about was the issue of the Somali police force where he said they work under tough circumstance. He asked the public to help the government in delivering public services by paying taxes, fighting corruption and mismanagement. He blamed the UN aid agencies of laxity and numerous fake promises of renovating the police stations.
The PM guaranteed to the millions of the people watching and listening him in the media and the internet that his government will maintain and bolster good governance, will give fair power share to women, will form an independent commission to probe into corruption and mismanagement and will continue security operations and liberate the country from Al-Shabaab. He urged the Somali Diaspora to take part in the rebuilding of the nation.
The Prime Minister Dr. Abdiweli thanked all the participants of the dialogue who were listening him in the radios and those following him in the internet. He encouraged perpetuation of such meetings which will scrutinize public figures. He equally thanked CRD and Universal TV crew asking them to frequent such gatherings in order to oversee the progress of the government. He pledged his government will put into consideration the views and proposals of the people which he said were crucial. Dr. Abdiweli said he is ready for such gatherings to be held in every month where the government accounts for its work.
Govt to airlift SADC member states’ contributions to Somalia
23 Nov – Source: African Grio – 262 words
South Africa will today, 23 November 2011, begin airlifting SADC Member States’ food assistance (264 tons) to Mogadishu via Nairobi. The assistance will be distributed in Mogadishu by the World Food Programme’s local office from 24 November 2011.
Out of concern about the current situation in Somalia, SADC Member States, at the 31st Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government in August 2011, passed the “Declaration in Solidarity with the People and Government of Somalia on the Famine Situation Affecting the Country”.
The declaration encouraged SADC Member States to assist the Government and People of Somalia affected by the drought in the Horn of Africa. This prompted SADC Member States to adopt Summit Decision 25, in which South Africa offered to airlift SADC contributions from the region to Somalia.
Somalia, as well as other countries in the Horn of Africa, has been severely affected by the worst drought to strike the region in 60 years. This has been exacerbated by continued instability in Somalia, which has resulted in large numbers of displaced Somalis.
At least six regions in Somalia are now famine zones with famine likely to spread further in the coming months. The United Nations has indicated that about four million people are severely affected in Somalia and that 750 000 people are at risk of death in the absence of an adequate response. The plane will be loaded at about 18h00 today and will depart at about 21h00 from the cargo section of OR Tambo International Airport.
SOMALI MEDIA
President Sharif travels to Addis Ababa
24 Nov – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Shabelle – 53 words
The President of Somalia Sheik Sharif Ahmed has departed to Ethiopia, Addis Ababa today. He was accompanied by the defence Minister of Hussein Arab Issa and other members of the TFG. President Sharif is attending the Eastern Africa Security and development meeting which will be held in Addis Ababa tomorrow to discuss regional security concerns.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Somali premier, Dr. Abdiweli Ali: there are criminals in Somali government, asks for tax
23 Nov – Source: Mareeg Online – 291 words
Somali premier, Dr. Abdweli Mohamed Ali has on Wednesday answered a large number of open questions asked about the security of Mogadishu at an event held in a police station, reports said.
Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said that fighting against al Shabaab would continue until they are cleared from the whole Somali territory. He also thanked the role of the African Union peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu.
Dr. A/weli asked people involved in business to pay tax and repeated the issue of tax payment several times, saying it would be used to handle the security and reconstruction of the city, police stations and give salaries to national army.
Dr. Abdiweli also threatened marketers and business people that his government would take taxes by force if they rejected to pay. “We will take taxes from business people by force if they are not willing to pay”, Somali premier said.
Dr. Abdiweli confirmed that criminals are currently part of his government and said that some of them had killed over a hundred innocent civilians, adding that sometimes evil acts or crimes are defended through through tribalism in his government.
The Somali prime minister accused the United Nations of not properly helping the Somali government and Somali people, accusing them of corrupting large sums of money intended for Somalis and acting in the name of Somalis.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
Somali MPs reject joint committee on implementation of political roadmap
23 Nov – Source: Shabelle Media – 317 words
Somali MPs yesterday held a meeting in which they said they are opposed to the Joint Committee on the implementation of the political Road Map which was yesterday appointed by Prime Minister Abdiweli Muhammad Ali.
Up 185 members of parliament have held a meeting in Mogadishu in which they said they are opposed to the appointment of the joint committee on the implementation of the Road Map which is to oversee government operations in the next year as agreed in the consultation meeting held in Mogadishu.
The MPs said the committee was illegally given that the political road map which they have been appointed to implement has not been brought before the parliament. They also accused the government of violating the Transitional Federal Charter.
Muhammad Nur Shegow, one of the MPs that attended the meeting told the media that the TFG stands to lose the parliament’s confidence if it persists with its violation of the laid-down laws. The MP also asked the Speaker of Parliament and senior TFG officials to reconvene at the parliament this coming Thursday (24th of November).
Suleyman Muhammad Ibrahim, another of the MPs that attended the meeting cautioned the TFG against the implementation of the Road Pap parts of which, he said, contradict the Transitional Federal Charter.
Madobe Muhammad Nunow, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights also said parliament would not allow the country to be dragged back to the dark days when they experienced a lot of problems. Prime Minister Abdiweli has appointed a joint committee – comprising of representatives from Puntland and Galmudug administrations as well as Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a and civil society groups – which is meant to implement the agreed Road Map and oversee plans for the transition period.
5 al Shabaab members escape the terrorist group in Garbaharay
24 Nov – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Radio Mogadishu – 132 words
Five members of al Shabaab yesterday afternoon deserted the extremists’ militias in Garbaharey; they were subsequently put on display in an open ground by Ahlu Sunna wal-jamaa Islamists who welcomed the men on the run.
One of the reformed al Shabaab militia fighters requested members of the public to forgive him as he claimed that he came to realize the real ideology on Islam.
Ahlu Sunna wal jama’s spokesperson in Gedo, Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Al- Qadi, told the public that they bought the guns of the young fighters for 200$ each. For the last few months, many al Shabaab fighters escaped the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group to join either the TFG forces or Ahlu Sunna Wal- Jama’a Islamists.
TFG forces arrested seven students suspected of being al Shabaab members
23 Nov – Source: Radio Risala, Somalia Report – 53 words
TFG security forces detained seven students from Al-fajri secondary school after accusing them of being part of al Shabaab. “They are my friends and I am sure that they are not al Shabaab. They (inspected) them and put them in custody in the government-controlled districts” one of the student told radio Risala.
Government official vows to take over Beledweyne town
23 Nov – Source: Shabelle – 194 words
The former governor of Hiiraan region for the TFG Yusuf Ahmed Hagar Dabaged on Wednesday vowed to retake control of Beledweyne town, the provincial capital of Hiiraan region in central Somalia.
Mr Hagar said in an interview with Shabelle radio that his militia is ready for war and will root out al Shabaab militants from the region of Hiiraan in order to retake its control as soon as possible with the help of Shabelle Valley fighters in that region.
He said during the interview, that he is part of one of the recently established Shabelle Valley administrations of Hiiraan region. Mr. Hagar, the Ex-governor of Hiiraan region for the TFG also pointed out that the government and the people are united in the war on al Shabaab fighters and that they will defeat them.
The former governor of Hiiraan region for the TFG Yusuf Ahmed Hagar Dabaged welcomed the incursion of Ethiopian troops into Somalia, saying Ethiopia is neighbouring country and they are helping him to overcome the battle against al Shabaab fighters.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Explosion injures three people in Galkayo town
23 Nov – Source: Somalia Report, Radio Bar-kulan – 93 words
A remote-controlled bomb exploded near Bishaar mosque during evening prayers on Wednesday in northern Galkayo, the regional capital of Mudug region controlled by Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland, killing one civilian and injuring two others.
“The remote-controlled explosive device went off outside a Sufi mosque. The three civilians were injured and then taken to the hospital” Abdirashid Cadced, a police officer in Mudug region told Somalia report.
Moreover, reports from Galka’yo indicate that Puntland soldiers started investigations over the explosion even though nobody has been arrested over the issue.
Others reported that the blast occurred at a civilian security base next to the mosque in Israac village and the local guards arrested three suspects. The injured people are currently nursing terrible injuries.
People fleeing from Kenyan raids in southern Somalia
24 Nov – Source: Mareeg Online – 122 words
Residents in Badhadhe district of Lower Jubba region, southern Somalia have begun fleeing from Kenyan air strikes to the forest as Kenyan warplanes raided the area yesterday, residents said.
Kenyan war planes are reported to have stricken the Badhadhe yesterday. The exact number of casualties as a result of the air attack is not yet clear, but it is believed to have killed a number of people and livestock there.
Reports from Badhadhe this morning indicate that civilians started running away from the city fearing Kenyan air attacks against al Shabaab fighters are patrolling there. On the other hand, Chairman of Gedo region of the TFG, Mohamed Abdi Kalil said that Kenyan air strikes early this week in the Yakle area killed 50 al Shabaab fighters, reports said.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan soldier dies, 11 injured in suspected al Shabaab attack
24 Nov – Source: the Standard, Capital FM News – 515 words
One soldier died and at least 11 others were injured when a timed landmine exploded on their lorry in a daring attack in Mandera town at the Kenya/Somalia border.
The soldiers were also shot at from two directions after the landmine went off at about 6am Thursday. The injured were being treated at the local hospital. Three of them had their legs badly injured while the rest had severe burns, witnesses said.
They were part of 13 soldiers who were headed for the main border when the landmine that had been set on the road exploded few metres from their military base.
Officials in Mandera said after the explosion, there were gunshots fired from two sides by unknown assailants. The assailants escaped to the thicket as the other two soldiers jumped out and tried to repulse them. Police immediately blamed the attack on remnants of Al Shabaab militants who are operating in the area.
http://www.standardmedia.co.
Ethiopia: East African leaders meet on Somali security offensive
24 Nov – Source: Afrique Jet – 336 words
East African leaders are due to meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a Summit of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Friday, to discuss how the Kenyan troops operating inside Somalia could contribute to the overall success of the peace effort.
Kenyan officials have offered to transfer the troops currently in Somalia to an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), to achieve early success of the operation against the Al Shabaab.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesman Lindsay Kiptines said here the Kenyan government was ready to convert the troops in Somalia into the AMISOM contingent but this would depend on the resolutions to be adopted at the Addis Ababa Summit. Kenyan and AMISOM officials have held separate meetings in Addis Ababa to plan how their forces would work together to achieve the objective of eliminating the Al Shabaab threat. Kenyan troops operating inside Somalia have lost a total of eight soldiers, five of them in a single helicopter crash. Two of the soldiers were killed by enemy fire and one soldier has been missing at sea.
The IGAD meeting is also important for Ethiopia, which said it could formally announce whether it was willing to send troops into Somalia. Ethiopian troops pulled out of Somalia in 2009 after staying on the ground for two years to dislodge a coalition of Islamist rulers who had taken control of Mogadishu. The AMISOM troops, currently numbering 9,000, are expected to receive a boost from Djibouti, whose plan to deploy inside Somalia has constantly been postponed since 2009.
The Djiboutian troops are expected in Somalia in January 2012. Kenyan military planners want the Djiboutian troops deployed Southwards to liberated territories previously under the Al Shabaab. Meanwhile, African Union’s Special Envoy, Jerry Rawlings, held talks in Nairobi with the Kenyan Defence Minister Yusuf Hajji on the coordination of the AMISOM troops with their Kenyan counterparts. Rawlings, the High Representative of the AU on Somalia, said the Somali crisis had been left to a few states and appealed for international assistance.
Kenyan troops cut off Kismayu from militants
23 Nov – Source: Daily Nation – 383 words
Kenyan troops have blockaded the port of Kismayu, effectively cutting off Al-Shabaab’s main source of revenue.
The Kenya Air Force and Kenya Navy have been patrolling the skies above Kismayu and the sea. As a result, operations at the busy port, which is served by a long jetty, had significantly reduced over the last four weeks.
Airforce pilots told the Nation on Wednesday after conducting aerial surveillance that five ships that had been docked at the port had departed leaving behind a few sailing boats and skiffs.
Al-Shaabab has mainly relied on millions of dollars they collect from the ships that dock at the port. The ships bring in sugar and electronics which are mainly smuggled into Kenya. They take out charcoal destined for the Middle East.
The militants also collect additional revenue from fishermen in Ras Kamboni and Bur Gabo. On Wednesday, Operation Linda Nchi also scored a major victory on the diplomatic front after the African Union backed the war against the militants and expressed confidence that it would succeed.
Speaking in Nairobi, the AU special envoy to Somalia, Mr Jerry Rawlings, praised the discipline of Kenyan troops saying it had been tested during various UN missions they had undertaken around the world.
Ethiopia will further strengthen support to Somalia: Hailemariam
23 Nov – Source: Ethiopian News Agency – 178 words
Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Ethiopia will further strengthen the ongoing all-rounded support to Somalia.
While discussing with a delegation led by the TFG Somalia Parliament Speaker Sheikh Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden here on Wednesday, Hailemariam said Ethiopia will further enhance its support toward maintaining peace and security in Somalia through IGAD.
He said measures against Al Shabaab will be taken jointly with IGAD member countries, the African Union and the international community, according to the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dina Mufti.
Sheikh Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden told journalists after the discussion that the discussion focused on issues related to the current drought and security in Somalia.
Discussion was also held on the implementation of the agreement reached in Kampala, Uganda to bring an end to the chaos in Somalia and also on ways to work together to maintain peace and stability in the region.
The speaker called on Ethiopia and IGAD member states to provide assistance for the election to be held in the coming year in Somalia.
http://www.ena.gov.et/
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Ethiopian intervention in Somalia risks worsening crisis: UN
23 Nov – Source: AP – 368 words
The United Nations warned Thursday that Ethiopia’s reported sending of troops into Somalia to fight Islamist rebels could worsen what is already the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis. “Local sources report that hundreds of Ethiopian troops entered Somalia on November 20 opening a new front against Al Shabaab,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report.
“The humanitarian community is deeply concerned about the consequences that this intervention could have on the already fragile humanitarian situation due to access to the population,” the report warned.
“The intensification of the conflict in Somalia threatens to increase internal displacement,” it added, the first time the United Nations has warned of the potentially dangerous consequences of Ethiopia’s move.
Witnesses told AFP on November 19 that convoys of lorries and hundreds of Ethiopian troops crossed in south and central Somalia. Addis Ababa has denied its forces have crossed into the war-torn nation.
Some 250,000 people in south and central Somalia face imminent starvation, the UN report added, despite massive international efforts to get emergency aid out to critically affected regions. The Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab are now battling Kenyan forces in the south, Ugandan and Burundian African Union forces in Mogadishu, and face Ethiopian troops in the west.
Although the UN last week downgraded the number of famine zones by half, reclassifying three regions at emergency levels, the humanitarian crisis in central and southern Somalia remains the worst in the world.
Somalia’s neighbours have recently renewed efforts to restore stability there after two decades of chaos, with Nairobi last week saying it was willing to deploy troops for the African Union force protecting the Somali government.
Ethiopia pulled out its soldiers from Somalia in 2009 after a two-year invasion that defeated an Islamist movement, but the group’s military wing, the Shabaab, regrouped to battle the troops and have waged a bloody war since.
Ugandan and Burundian soldiers making up the 9,700-strong AU force have been battling the Shabaab in the capital Mogadishu since deploying in 2007. Ethiopia has said the decision on whether it will send troops to Somalia will be taken Friday at a heads of state meeting in Addis Ababa of the regional body, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.
AU envoy urges negotiations with Somalia rebels
23 Nov – Source: Reuters / Capital FM – 645 words
Nairobi, The African Union special envoy for Somalia on Wednesday urged countries waging war on al Shabaab to keep an open door to negotiations with militants who are willing to lay down their weapons.
Neighbouring Kenya sent hundreds of troops into southern Somalia in mid-October to crush the Islamist insurgents it blames for a series of kidnappings on its soil and regular cross-border attacks. Its air force has launched sporadic strikes on what it says are rebel targets.
Ethiopia also sent dozens of military trucks and armoured vehicles into central Somalia over the weekend, witnesses said. “I’m not saying that Kenya should consider negotiating with al Shabaab. I’m saying that all of us engaged in the effort to bring stability to Somalia should not shut the door to combatant elements who would want to put aside their weapons and talk politics,” said Jerry Rawlings, former president of Ghana and now AU representative for Somalia.
“Even as we are doing combat … let’s also create an opening for them to come on board politically. Let’s not shut all the doors to them,” Rawlings told a news conference in Nairobi.
The AU has backed Kenya’s pursuit of al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab inside Somalia to secure stability in the Horn of Africa country and ensure Kenya’s own security. But Rawlings warned on Wednesday that the conflict would be complex and bloody.
“It is important to maintain the support of the local populace,” he said. “The exercise that your armed forces are going to undertake is a complex one, because a lot of it will involve fighting in urban dwelling areas, and you will have to be prepared for some casualties.”
Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told Reuters in September that his government was open to talks with al Shabaab’s top commanders and informal talks had been held. Al Shabaab, fighting to impose a harsh interpretation of Sharia law on the nation, has vowed to revenge against the region’s biggest economy and brings the “flames of war” to its neighbour.
LIBERATION?
Kenya’s Defence Minister Yusuf Haji, who attended the news conference, declined to say whether the east African nation would negotiate with any al Shabaab rebels. He reiterated that Kenya had the right to pursue the enemy inside Somali territory.
“What we are trying to do is liberate as many areas of Somalia as possible,” Haji said. He urged Rawlings to help secure the assistance of the AU peacekeeping force, AMISOM, “to come and take position in the liberated areas whenever it is necessary”.
About 9,000 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers make up AMISOM, which is propping up the shaky Western-backed Somali government and now controls much of the capital Mogadishu after al Shabaab withdrew in August from the coastal city.
The Horn of Africa country has been racked by violence since the overthrow of dictator Siad Barre in 1991 allowed first warlords, then Islamist militants, to step into the political vacuum. Ethiopia publicly denies its forces are inside Somalia. Addis Ababa has said a decision on whether to join the assault against al Shabaab in some form would be taken on Friday at a meeting of east African heads of state.
Ethiopia entered Somalia in December 2006, with tacit U.S. backing and at the invitation of a Somali government, and left under a cloud in 2009 after routing a previous Islamist administration. But Ethiopia’s perceived occupation deeply angered many Somalis, helping to swell the ranks of al Shabaab.
Asked if the Ethiopians’ re-entry into Somalia would be well received, Rawlings said: “Quite frankly I think they have learnt the necessary lessons and the feedback we are getting is that they are coming on board, we are on the same page.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
Blast hits Kenya army truck near Somalia border
24 Nov – Source: Reuters – 88 words
A blast struck a Kenyan military truck in Mandera on Thursday, police said, the latest in a spate of attacks on Kenyan security forces along the border with Somalia since the east African country sent troops across the frontier.
Leo Nyongesa, the police commander for North Eastern province told Reuters no soldiers had been killed in the incident, but some had been wounded.
Kenyan army spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir said he checking on the incident. Local residents said security forces had sealed off the area around the blast site.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
Kenya wants to galvanize world action on Somalia
24 Nov – Source: Reuters – 266 words
Kenya’s military push should trigger greater international efforts to stabilise Somalia and end “the expansion of terrorism’s tentacles”, the Kenyan security minister said on Wednesday, without spelling out what this would entail.
George Saitoti, a veteran politician and former vice president, said Kenya wanted the international community to “come in” and take joint steps to help Somalia, which has been without an effective central government for 20 years.
Saitoti, on a visit to Britain, declined to define what success would look like, how much the mission was costing or give an end date for the advance, but said he hoped the operation would be over by the next Kenyan election, which is due at some point between August and December 2012.
“Our cause is right and just,” he told Reuters. “The provocation has been very clear. There was no way Kenya was going to tolerate this kind of violation of our own border.”
“Kenya is not fighting the Somali people. Kenya is not fighting the religion of Islam. Kenya is fighting terrorism.”
Asked whether Kenya wanted to capture the southern Somali port of Kismayo, an al Shabaab tax raising hub, he said: “Let me put it this way: Kenya has no territorial ambitions on Somalia.”
“Our position is properly calculated … in the hope that the international community will come in and form joint efforts to stabilise Somalia, because that is the key thing.”
“This is not Kenya’s war. This is a big challenge not only for the Horn of Africa region and not only for the African Union but also for the whole international community.”
http://af.reuters.com/article/
UK paratroopers train Sierra Leonean soldiers for Somalia peacekeeping mission
24 Nov – Source: Defence Web – 1225 words
Four British paratroopers have been training Sierra Leonean troops in mortar firing in preparation for an African Union mission in Somalia next year.
The team of soldiers, from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, based in Colchester, flew out to West Africa to complete the live-fire tactical training of the Sierra Leonean troops, the UK Ministry of Defence said.
The paratroopers were led by Warrant Officer Class 2 Sergeant Major Dean Stokes, also of The Parachute Regiment and a member of the International Military Assistance Training Team (IMATT). He has been in Sierra Leone twice before on operations, and is struck by the changes:
“The Army’s been regenerated,” he said. “I’ve seen a massive turnaround and it’s given me a wealth of satisfaction. That’s why I’ve come again and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Sierra Leone is one of West Africa’s poorest countries, and its Armed Forces have been completely restructured since the end of a bloody civil war in 2002.
Now it has pledged soldiers to the African Union Mission in Somalia, deploying around April 2012 – its most ambitious deployment yet.
The course delivered by the British was mentally tough, required physical fitness and involved a demanding night-shoot, but the Sierra Leoneans proved that they could handle it. WO2 Stokes explained why this was necessary:
“When they go to Somalia, war-fighting doesn’t stop during the day, so they need to have the capacity to illuminate the area outside their FOBs [forward operating bases],” he said.
Experts in their field, the paratroopers’ own platoon has recently returned from Afghanistan, but the team was impressed with the progress they saw:
“This is my first time with the Sierra Leonean Army but it’s been a pleasure,” said team member Corporal David Ingram.
“Lieutenant Barrie is the only mortar platoon commander in Sierra Leone, so not too much pressure on him! Once we leave he’s going to have to teach his own guys. But they’re really keen, really enthusiastic, and just want to learn more and more.”