MOGADISHU, Somalia, Aug, 30 – African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), on Saturday honoured outgoing top officers from the military and police components who played an important role in the transitioning of the mission from the former African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
The 74 officers, included Sector Commanders, Staff Officers attached to the ATMIS Force headquarters and Individual Police Officers (IPOs), who have successfully completed their tour of duty, were honoured at a medal and farewell ceremony in Mogadishu, presided over by the Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia, Fiona Lortan.
Ms. Lortan commended the officers for their invaluable contribution to peace and stability in Somalia, particularly during the transition phase from AMISOM to ATMIS.
“Your contributions have been invaluable and your wealth and depth of knowledge will be missed” said Ms Lortan.
The ATMIS Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Diomede Ndegeya, lauded the officers for their distinguished service to the mission and strict discipline that enabled them to deliver on their tasks.
“I must laud our soldiers in the various sectors as well as their Commanders for the visible and sustainable efforts in discharging assigned missions and tasks. You remained the greatest asset to disrupt and degrade Al-shabaab within the ATMIS Area of Responsibility. This has enabled the creation of favourable conditions for peace and stability to prevail in the main population centres within Somalia,” Lt. Gen. Ndegeya said.
The AMTIS Police Chief of Staff, Commissioner of Police (CP) Rex Dundun, thanked the 17 police officers for their contributions towards creating sustainable peace and development in Somalia.
“This batch of officers successfully witnessed and contributed to two important milestones in Somalia. First, the successful democratic elections that took place across the country and second, the transition from AMISOM to ATMIS,” said CP Dundun.
In his remarks, Col.Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, the Advisor to the Chief of Defence Forces, Somalia National Army thanked the ATMIS officers for their diligence and dedication in supporting the Somali Security Forces during their tour of duty.
“This is the only unique type of African peacekeeping mission that is serving in Somalia since 2007, and we can see the gains that this mission has achieved over that time,” said Col. Hassan.
The farewell and medal parade ceremony was attended by representatives from the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS),United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS),the European Union Training Mission (EUTM), the UK Mission Support Team to ATMIS (UKMST) and the Somalia National Army.
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