Somalia government takes over top military academy

Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Guled (Left) and Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira(Right),  in the Somali capital. Photo/Courtesy 

The Somalia government Friday took over the Jaalle Siyaad Military Academy that has been occupied by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for more than a decade.

According to a statement from AMISOM, the military academy had been an operation base for the Burundi contingent, since September 2008.

Francisco Madeira, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia said the takeover is another major milestone in the implementation of the Somalia Transition Plan.

"It follows last August's handover of the Mogadishu National Stadium to the Federal Government of Somalia," he said.

The Academy holds a special place in the country's history, having served as a key Forward Operation Base (FBO) for AU troops during the fierce battle against Al-Shabaab militants that led to the liberation of Mogadishu in 2011.

The hand over, the SRCC noted, signifies the commitment of AMISOM and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in fulfilling key requirements under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2431, which authorized withdrawal of AMISOM troops and gradual transfer of security responsibility to the Somali National Security Forces.

The event was attended by senior officials from AMISOM, United Nations and the federal government, among them, State Minister of Defence, Mohamed Ali Haga; Mayor of Mogadishu, Abdirahman Omar Osman; Deputy Chief of Defence Forces of the Somali National Army (SNA), Gen. Bile Mohamud Adan; AMISOM Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Tigabu Yilma Wondimhunegn, and Burundi Contingent Commander, Brig. Leonidas Niyungeko. Representatives from the European Union, Italy and Turkey also attended the ceremony.

The handover was the culmination of three months of preparation, which saw the Burundi continent move its main operation base to Jowhar, the administrative capital of Somalia's youngest state, HirShabelle.

Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Guled, described the handover of the academy as proof that the country was on the right path to achieving long lasting peace and security after decades of war.

"The handover of Jaalle Siyaad is testimony to the commitment by the government and its partners to the implementation of the National Security Plan, which is one of the top priorities on the list of government programmes," he noted.

The academy is the third facility to be handed over to the federal government, after the Somali National University in July 2017 and Mogadishu National Stadium in August 2018.