Garowe Online (Garowe)
20 October 2009
Mogadishu — Somali government troops who completed military training in the neighboring Republic of Djibouti have landed in the capital Mogadishu, a day after 11 people were killed in insurgent attacks, Radio Garowe reports.
The Somali troops arrived at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport on Tuesday, where they were welcomed by Somali Defense Minister Abdalla Haji Boss and the spokesman of the African Union peacekeeping force (AMISOM) in Mogadishu, Maj. Bahoku Barigye.
The troops were transported in a private airplane from Djibouti, with Defense Minister Boss saying that they were training to help the Somali interim government restore order, especially in Mogadishu.
Somali government officials would not confirm the exact number of soldiers and local media was prohibited from the airport, but it the first batch of Somali soldiers to arrive in Mogadishu after completing military training in Djibouti. Some reports say around 800 Somali soldiers are being trained in Djibouti.
The newly arrived troops marched in front of the Somali government officials before being transported to Villa Somalia presidential compound, where President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed briefly addressed the troops.
The Somali interim government and its AMISOM backers is combating insurgents who have vowed to overthrow the UN-recognized government in Mogadishu.
Thousands of people have been killed and over one million displaced since the insurgency erupted in early 2007.
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