Monday December 18, 2017
Evelyn a trainer from AMISOM police component, presents a certificate to one of the trainees during a training course on Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) & Explosive Ordinance Devices (EOD) for Southwest police forces, conducted by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Baidoa, Somalia, on December 16, 2017. AMISOM Photo
Baidoa (HOL) - 15 Southwest police officers have completed a ten-day training course on countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs) this week in Baidoa.
Somalia's Al-Shabaab and ISIS militants have used explosives to attack densely populated areas and government institutions.
The workshop which conducted by AMISOM aimed at creating awareness among the general public on the dangers of explosives and how to identify them.
Speaking during the closing ceremony, Tresphord Kasale, the AMISOM Police Coordinator for South West state said the training was aimed at equipping the Somali police with vital skills to detect explosives planted by terrorists.
“We have just finished the course on IED and EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) for 15 participants drawn from Somali police force. The purpose of this course was to create awareness (among) the officers so that they are able to identify IEDs and be able to call upon experts to come and defuse them,” Kasale said.
For safe handling and detonation, and to prevent loss of life and destruction of property, Kasale urged the public to alert security officers whenever they detect or identify an IED.
Ms. Farhiya Ahmed Mohamed, one of the trainees, described the course as timely, adding that it will help them discharge their duties effectively.
“Today, we have concluded a course on IED/EOD organized by AMISOM and we were awarded certificates. We were taught many things that will be useful to our country, for example, how to detect where a landmine has been planted. We also learnt how to administer first aid to victims and how to rush the victim to a hospital for treatment,” Ms. Farhiya stated.
Al-Shabaab has been carrying out IED attacks against allied forces since the group was ousted from many towns including the country's capital Mogadishu.
In October, over 500 people were killed and more than 600 injured after a truck laden with explosive went off in Mogadishu.