Hiiraan Online
By Shafi’i Mohyaddin
Saturday, February 08, 2014
The federal government of Somalia today concluded a 6 month-long training course for its first Commandos who will be operating in the country for the first time in nearly 25 years.
According to Defense Minister, Mohamed Sheik Hassan Hamud, the training was conducted by Somali military experts and some foreign trainers.
Somali Army Chief of Staff Brigadier, General Dahir Aden Elmi, said that the new Commandos were collected from regions across the country.
“We are very hopeful that the new Commandos will be able to restore the Special Operations Force to its former glory and I am very grateful to the United States government for helping with the implementation of this training course,” the Somali Army Chief of Staff told the closing ceremony.
The Defense Minister, who concluded the training course for the Somali Commandos on Saturday, said that he was very happy with the revival of Somalia’s Commandos once known as ‘Danab’, but unfortunately collapsed after the fall of Somalia in 1991.
“The Commandos will be based at the Balli Dogle military camp and they will have complete military equipment,” the Defense Minister said adding that the Commandos will get their rights from the Somali government.
This will be the first time in nearly 25 years that Somalia’s Commandos return into the platform. Once upon a time, the Somali military were one of the strongest army in Africa.