Saturday, May 21, 2016
KISMAYO: The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and humanitarian actors are meeting in Kismaayo, to establish a Regional Civil-Military Working Group aimed enhancing coordination in aid delivery.
AMISOM Senior Humanitarian Liaison Officer Mr. Abdul Diabagate said several humanitarian players from Jubbaland State are attending the meeting which will double up as a training forum for AMISOM Civil-Military coordination officers, who are charged with the responsibility of streamlining relations between humanitarian aid agencies and the military operating within the same geographical area.
“The purpose of the meeting and the training is to establish a Regional Civil-Military Working Group which will allow us to disseminate the Somalia Country Specific Guidelines. The other thing we wanted to do is also to have a chain of information and effective planning of humanitarian programs in order to promote effective humanitarian and military relations, by raising mutual awareness and understanding of the role of the military and the humanitarian actors in emergency situations. The last thing we wanted talk about is to be able to build relations with the community in order to build the relationship between AMISOM and the humanitarian actors,’’said Mr. Diagabate.
A participant, Mr. Garad Aden from the American Refugee Committee said the establishment of the working group would ease the working relationship between humanitarian actors, the military and civilian populations.
“It is a new working group that never existed in Kismaayo before and it is a step forward for Kismaayo humanitarian actors and AMISOM. A great gap existed between between AMISOM and the humanitarian actors in Kismaayo before the initiation of joint meetings,” he said.
AMISOM Deputy Chief of CIMIC, Lt. Col. Nestor Ndarusanze said a similar working group has been established in Beletweyne as part of ongoing efforts to enhancing civil-military relations.