MOGADISHU, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has donated assorted life-saving equipment to counter the persistent threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Somalia.
The material, which included vehicles, training-of-trainers kits, route search gear, medical hardware, and explosive ordnance disposal equipment, is expected to boost Somalia's anti-IED efforts, paving the country's path to self-reliance in national security, the UN mission said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Wednesday evening.
"Given the nature of the IED threat here in Somalia, it is essential that we sustain the capabilities of the national security forces and particularly so, now that we are thinking about the eventual and gradual withdrawal of the AU (African Union) forces," Ilene Cohn, director of UNMAS, was quoted as saying.
The explosive devices continue to pose a significant threat to peace and security across Somalia, with 597 devices resulting in more than 1,400 casualties last year, UNMAS said.
The Somali National Army (SNA)'s UNMAS-trained Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams have achieved a 70 percent success rate in locating and clearing IEDs.
UN Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for Somalia Raisedon Zenenga said the UN is creating real, tangible capacity on the ground for the Somali security forces in EOD and IED clearance.
UNMAS is supporting the explosive threat capacity development of Somali security forces through training, equipping, and providing advisory support.
From 2021 to date, UNMAS has trained and equipped 51 of the SNA's EOD teams and trained trainers through trainer-of-trainers courses to ensure the sustainability of capacity development efforts.
"We need more training and equipment because we are engaged in a bitter war with our enemy, who uses mines on the roads as a weapon of choice. The mines slow us down. If we can overcome them, we will be able to liberate more areas," Somalia's State Minister of Defence Omar Ali Abdi said. ■
