Somalia:AMISOM to reconstitute military bases to enhance troops’ safety‏

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is reconstituting its Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to enhance safety and security of its troops.

The exercise will also involve reviewing the design and layout to help establish sustainable FOBs which have positive impact on troop protection, logistical costs and combat force effectiveness.

“The threat has continuously changed hence we want better protection for our troops in the frontline. We also need to come up with a standardized FOB layout,” said Maj. Gen. Fidza Dludlu, the AMISOM Head of Mission Support, at a conference for AMISOM sector engineers held in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The aim of the conference, organized by AMISOM with support of the UK Mission Support Team (UKMST), was to come up with a standardized design and layout for the current and future FOBs.

Maj. Gen. Dludlu explained that the reconstitution of FOBs was part of the implementation of the Somali Transition Plan, which will see the AU Mission further reduce its troops by 1000 this year.