ATMIS intensifies training on civil protection in combat zones in Somalia – Halbeeg News

MOGADISHU, (Xinhua) — The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) said Tuesday that its 25 soldiers and police officers have undergone a five-day training on civil protection, human rights and civil-military coordination to guide their combat operations in the country.

The AU mission said the training in the town of Beledweyne, central Somalia, improved officers’ skills in protecting civilians during operations against Al-Shabab, a terrorist group, and improved community relations.

ATMIS Senior Protection and Human Rights Officer and Lead Trainer Gloria Jaase said training ATMIS forces in critical areas that affect civilians is a core mission mandate.

“One of our most important tasks as ATMIS is to train and build the capacity of ATMIS uniformed personnel to protect civilians,” Jaase said in a statement from Beledweyne.

She said the training is one of the initiatives to operationalize the African Union Compliance and Accountability Framework. The training drew participants from contingents of ATMIS Djibouti and the Ethiopian National Armed Forces, individual police officers and the Ghana-formed Police Unit.

The soldiers and police officers covered a wide range of topics, including the protection of vulnerable groups such as women and children, international humanitarian law, international human rights law and the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse.

The training also focused on civil-military coordination concepts, principles and guidelines, the use of armed escorts for humanitarian convoys and civilian casualty tracking, analysis and response.

ATMIS has intensified the training of its forces in Somalia to demote extremist group Al-Shabab as the country is expected to conduct a third peace support operation in January 2025.

In August, the African Union Peace and Security Council approved a proposal to establish the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, which will take over from ATMIS, which will launch the country’s first mission (AMISOM) in April 2022 replaced.