MOGADISHU, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Twenty Somali Police Force (SPF) officers have ended a seven-day training in Mogadishu aimed at detecting and eliminating extremism in the country, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said on Monday.
The 18 male and two female officers from 17 police stations across the country were trained to build the capacity of the officers through continuous mentoring and reform initiatives, in line with AMISOM's transition plan and commitment to improve peace and security in Somalia.
Hassan Alasow, SPF's director of training and planning, called on the newly trained officers to work closely with members of the community to detect and eliminate radicalization.
"I wish to thank AMISOM for this training, for imparting skills on how to detect and handle those radicalized by extremists and how to manage the reintegration of some of them into society," said Alasow in a statement issued by AMISOM.
Alasow said the training was important in equipping Somali police officers with critical policing skills meant to quickly detect and arrest insurgents and radical extremists.
Francis Ndiema, AMISOM police commander in charge of training and planning, said the training was important to create awareness within the SPF of the dangers of radicalization and extremism.
"This course is important because it is intended to equip participants with the knowledge and skills in community servicing, but you can only achieve that through effective community policing. The intention is to fight radicalization and extremism," Ndiema said.
