Committees to oversee formation of national army

The Transitional National Government (TNG) of Somalia has set up three committees to oversee the establishment of a national army, TNG Defence Minister Abdullah Boqor Muse ‘King Kong’ has told IRIN. The establishment of the committees followed criticism of the government by members of the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), accusing it of dragging its feet in forming a national army, local sources told IRIN. King Kong admitted that the government had no accurate figure for the number of soldiers it had recruited. “I cannot give you an accurate number, but there are around 10,000 soldiers registered,” he told IRIN. One committee will be responsible for registering and regularising former Somali army soldiers and newly recruited former militias. The second committee would deal with making an inventory of “all armaments owned by the government” said King Kong. The TNG has reportedly taken over battle-wagons and other weapons previously belonging to the Islamic courts in Mogadishu, which were recently disbanded after their militias and judges were absorbed by the government. Much of this equipment had never been catalogued, the local sources said. The third committee would examine ways by which the living conditions of the recruited soldiers could be improved, King Kong said. “We want to have an effective national army”, and the best way bringing this about was to take good care of its members, King Kong said. The committees were to report back with their recommendations to the defence ministry within a week, the local sources said.