MOGADISHU (SD) – Somali National Army (SNA) and AMISOM have agreed on strategies for Somali security forces to take a lead role in security operations going forward.

In a statement on Friday, AMISOM said two-day meeting between SNA, AMISOM commanders as well as officials from the United Nations Support Office in Somalia, the UK Mission Support Team and several of Somalia’s international partners had set targets for joint operations against militants.

Head of AMISOM Francisco Madeira said the months ahead will be crucial in the implementation of the decisions reached at a two-day meeting.

According to Madeira, the meeting evaluated security gains in Somalia.

During the meeting, Somali military commanders were urged to continue to flush out al-Shabab and other armed opposition groups in the country.

“As the mission gets into the next phase, where AMISOM is expected to gradually transfer security responsibility to the Somali security forces, joint planning and coordination, as well as harmonized force reconfiguration will enable the mission to maintain operational effectiveness, thus, we can timely and effectively respond to threats within our area of responsibility,” Madeira said.

He said the conference marked an important milestone in the roadmap toward peace and stability in Somalia, where Somali security forces are to assume a lead role in their own security operations, as laid out in the Somali Transition Plan (STP).

The meeting brought together representatives from the Somali government, the SNA military and AMISOM, as well as international partners.

SNA Chief of Defense Forces Odowa Yusuf Rage reiterated that his forces, with support from AMISOM and other partners, have been building capacity for the eventual takeover of security responsibilities from AMISOM.

“I want to express my commitment to all the plans we have agreed upon and make it clear that SNA is committed to implementing its part as agreed. I call upon the sectors to take seriously the reconfiguration synchronization matrix and put in action all its recommendations so that we can achieve our harmonized plans,” Rage said.