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SOMALIA / MILITIA TRAINING
STORY: SOMALIA / MILITIA TRAINING
TRT: 2:23
SOURCE: AU/UN IST
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SOMALI/ ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 30 APRIL 2014, MARKA, SOMALIA
1. Extreme wide shot, militia on parade
2. Wide shot, militia marching on parade
3. Med shot, the trainees on parade
4. Close up shot, the militia on the parade
5. Wide shot, the militia marching
6. SOUNDBITE: (SOMALI) Mohamed Osman Ali, Governor of Marka District:
“The training of the militias is going on well, because they came here voluntarily. The
aim of the training is to defend their country and the people of Marka from the al-Shabaab.”
7. Med shot,Somali National Army soldiers
8. Wide up, trainees on parade
9. SOUNDBITE: (SOMALI) Somalia National Army Instructors:
“The war mongers are also there but these militia men have been trained to faceeverything, particularly anything abusing Marka region and the government of
Somalia.”
10. Wide shot, the trainees seated on the ground
11. Close up, one of the trainee’s foot ware
12. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Maj. Simon Pitola, Battle Group Civil Military CooperationOfficer:
“Government troops in this particular area are very few. It's just a section whonormally man a check point just near our quarter guard on the main road going to Marka; so the entire security in this village is manned by the local militia. It’s not by the SNA, the government troops and these local militia are really doing us good. Ofrecent, they reported when al-Shabaab wanted to come and attack one of ourdetaches. They reported and we alerted our people, so when al-Shabaab came, theyfound when our people were already alert.”
13. Med shot, militia trainees seated on the ground
14. Close up, female militia
15. Wide shot, female militia
16. SOUNDBITE: (SOMALI): Female fighter:
“I was obliged to join the militias because of the
security problems in the countryand the Lower Shabelle region. That is why I joined the militia and stopped my Education.”
17. Wide shot, militia trainees
Residents and local militia of Marka district in the Lower Shebelle region of Somalia have enlisted for a combat training provided by the Somali National Army (SNA) and troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), in a bid to secure their homes from attacks by al Shabaab militia.
The town of Marka is located 109 km southwest of the capital Mogadishu and has over time suffered attacks from the al Shabaab, who reportedly tortured residents and looted their property.
Mohamed Osman Ali, the governor of Marka said the training will go a long way in boosting the security in the area.
“The training of the militias is going on well, because they came here voluntarily. The aim of the training is to defend their country and the people of Marka from the al Shabaab,” he said.
Maj. Simon Pitola, the Civil Military Cooperation Officer of AMISOM said the local militia have been effective in warding off attacks by the al Shabaab.
“Government troops in this particular area are very few, it's just a section who normally man a check point just near our quarter guard on the main road going to Marka; so the entire security in this village is manned by the local militia. It’s not by the SNA, the government troops and these local militia are really doing us good. Of recent, they reported when al Shabaab wanted to come and attack one of our detaches (detachments). They reported and we alerted our people, so when al Shabaab came, they found when our people were already alert,” he says.
The men and women that have volunteered for the training say they felt it was their responsibility to contribute to the security of their district and country in general.
“I was obliged to join the militias because of the security problems in the country and in the Lower Shebelle region. That is why I joined the militia and stopped my education,” says one of the female militia members.
A joint military offensive by SNA and AMISOM have expelled al Shabaab from a number of towns they once controlled. AMISOM is hopeful that once the local population is fully engaged in enforcing security measures, the security situation in the country will improve significantly.
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