The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Saturday concluded a nine-day training program for 13 Individual Police Officers from Nigeria and Sierra Lone to help stabilize the Horn of Africa nation.

AMISOM Deputy Police Commissioner, Christine Alalo, said the newly deployed individual police officers will also help mentor and train their Somali police officers on best practices in policing.

“What we are supposed to be doing right now is ensure that we train them, but even then, as we train and mentor them, we should let them take the front role,” Alalo said in a statement released in Mogadishu.

The induction course was meant to acquaint the AU police officers with the Mission’s mandate and standard operating procedures as they began their one year tour of duty in Somalia.

Nigeria and Sierra Leone are part of the six Police Contributing Countries (PCCs), others being Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia.

During the training, the officers were taken through a number of topics which included, among others, the mandate and task of AMISOM, principles of peacekeeping operations, human rights in peacekeeping operations, Somali culture and human rights.

AMISOM has kicked off plans to exit the Horn of Africa nation by training the local security officers.

The Pan African body’s mission will reduce its troops by 1,000 by December, followed by further cuts next year, an exercise expected to end by 2020 as part of its exit strategy.

However, AMISOM’s exit is also pegged on the ability of the Somali National Security Forces, particularly the SNA to ably take over the security of the country.