The Military Operations Coordination Committee of AMISOM, met in Nairobi to discuss the military situation in Somalia, consider AMISOM needs and its future plans, Ethiopia’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday in statement.
The meeting was chaired by the AU Special Representative for Somalia and Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Francisco Madeira. Other present included the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Smail Chergui, Acting AMISOM Force Commander, Major General Mohammedesha Zeyinu, and the Chiefs of the Defense Staffs of the Troop Contributing Countries.
Opening the meeting, Ambassador Madeira paid tribute to the troops who had made enormous sacrifices to advance the AU cause of liberating Somalia, and acknowledged “the efforts and dedication of all our soldiers and policemen and women in the ranks of AMISOM, who in very trying circumstances, are presently holding the Pan-African banner and fighting.
Al-Shabaab with courage, dedication and enormous personal sacrificeâ, adding “I thank these living African Heroes.
Ambassador Madeira also emphasized the progress made in Somalia since the first AU troops arrived in Mogadishu in 2007: AMISOM, through joint military operations and other interventions, has created an environment where political process, particularly reconciliation and state formation are an evolving and tangible reality,
he said as he listed the political progress being made and the relative peace currently being enjoyed in the country.
Source :- starafrica.com