Ghana contributes over 100 to peacekeeping force in Somalia

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Ghana’s police are contributing over 100 officers to the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

A team of 113 personnel arrived in Mogadishu to begin their one-year tour of duty and help build the capacity of their counterparts in the Somali police force, AMISOM said in a statement on Wednesday.

They will complete a two-week COVID-19 quarantine before heading to Baidoa, the administrative capital of Somalia’s South West State.

Responding to the arrival of the new AMISOM police force, Somali Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdirizak tweeted Wednesday that they are not part of the hybrid forces proposed by the African Union.

Tensions have recently been high between Somalia and the African Union over the future of AMISOM.

On Nov. 4, the Horn of Africa country asked the African Union Commission representative to leave the country in one week after declaring him persona non grata.

​​​​​​​Ghana is one of the countries that contribute police services to AMISOM, along with Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia.​​​​​​​