A total of 2,900 Somali National Army trainees have been passed out at the Special Mission Training Centre in Butyaba Sub-county, Buliisa District.
The trainees completed a four-month Special Basic Military Training with intent to further fight the military insurgency in their home country.
Speaking at the pass out ceremony on Sunday, the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mr Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was optimistic that the rolling out of the trained forces in Uganda will change the Somali environment and also in the operational theatres where the war against terrorism is being conducted.
“I believe that this training will definitely change the environment of Somalia and in the operational theatres of the war going on in Somalia right now. It is the people of Somalia who are fighting today. It is the people of Somalia who say no to terrorists. The terrorists are on the run. They have no place to hide and they are remaining in the pockets where there is natural defence like forests and certain mountainous areas. We keep on continuing pushing,” he said.
The Somali president revealed that large swathes of land have been liberated from the terrorists in the last six months adding that the government is now providing people in the redeemed areas with such services as schools, medical facilities and other basic necessities that they had been denied for the last one and a half decades.
Mr Mohamud lauded Uganda for the unwavering support extended to the people of Somalia in fighting terrorism in their country.
On his part, the host President, Yoweri Museveni, said if the people of Africa had to internalise that concept instead of behaving like the colonial armies that allegedly fronted money first, everything would be easy.
He told his counterpart that the training the Somali soldiers received was at tactical level and crucial in dealing with the terrorists.
“I am very glad to hear what the president said that it is no longer a war of the government but a peoples’ war. That is how we managed to fight here,” he said.
The graduands underwent among others; marksmanship in range firing, patrols, check points hose clearing and VIP protection-suicide attacks.
Several military officers and ministers from both countries attended the ceremony in Butyaba sub-county, Buliisa district.
