Friday, December 30, 2011
The joint military campaign against Al
Shabaab received a major boost when 180 Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) trainee soldiers joined the army ranks.
The
sacrifice and determination to succeed was palpable as the soldiers
went through their paces at a military training session that matched any
other in any nation in the world, save for the would-be soldiers’
attire.
Against blistering
morning sea breeze, the soldiers matched in tattered civilian clothes
and worn out sandals — even bare foot — as they completed their final
drills before graduating.
"I am
a happy man today," declared Dhahir Ahmed 30 yesterday. "I had always
dreamed to join the army and that dream is about to be fulfilled. I want
to do this for my country and my family who were kicked out of
Mogadishu by Al Shabaab. I personally want to destroy Al Shabaab," he
added.
The recruits who were training under the
tutelage of TFG would be enlisted in the next two days to join the
nascent force giving it the much needed shot in the arm.
Captain
Abdulahi Ahmed Yusuf, who is in charge of the recruits’ training,
expressed optimism over the future of the force adding the exercise of
enlisting young men into the army will continue.
No troops to amass
"This
is the first step in an ambitious programme to boost our forces
capabilities to counter Al Shabaab by recruiting more soldiers," he
said.
He added the soldiers
aged between 18 and 30 had been training for eight months adding that
they were now ready to assume duties as full time armed forces
personnel.
However, if TFG
lacked infrastructure and resources to offer a standard training for its
soldiers, the gaps were filled by raw resolve and enthusiasm of the
recruits.
The development came
as unconfirmed intelligence reports said Al Shabaab were amassing troops
to the North of Kismayu to launch a series of massive attacks in areas
already captured by Kenya Defence Force (KDF) and TFG.
However,
officer commanding KDF operations at Ras Kamboni Major MG Simbili said
the reports were yet to be confirmed adding that Al Shabaab had no
troops to amass, anyway.
"If
anything, Al Shabaab is disintegrating by the day with fighters
defecting in numbers. Right now we have infiltrated their ranks and if
the reports were credible, we would know and quickly spring into
action," he said.
He welcomed
the recruitment drive, training and subsequent enlistment of the 180 TFG
soldiers saying it was a double-edged sword against Al Shabaab.
"The
development would boost the TFG forces and enable it contribute more
effectively in the campaign. The other thing is that this kind of
developments completely demoralises Al Shabaab," he said.