By The Star Staff Writer
MOGADISHU – Somalia’s defense minister says the Mogadishu-based soldiers trained by the United Arab Emirates will be absorbed into the national army soon, and that Mogadishu will pay their salaries.
The move comes just three days after the Somali government said it seized a mysterious $9.6 million from a plane originating from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Somalis have strongly criticized the government for allowing the controversial Gulf state to run its own army inside the nation’s capital, Mogadishu.
The frosty ties between the two Arab League member states have worsened after Abu Dhabi inked a unilateral agreement with politicians in the northwestern region to manage the Berbera port and set up a military base there.
“We counted them, and, God willing, they will be integrated into the army divisions,”Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman told reporters in the nation’s capital, Mogadishu. “The Somali government will take over them.”
He said the full integration would take place on April 12 that also falls on the Army Day.
He didn’t disclose the soldiers’ numbers.
On Thursday, the Somali army will celebrates its 58th anniversary of its establishment.
“As government, our responsibility is to take care of the salary of our army. Our responsibility is not to burden that with other people,” he said. “We thank the government of (United Arab) Emirates for training our soldiers and for their selfless support.”