MOGADISHU, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali National Army (SNA) have launched a joint operations center in Mogadishu to boost ongoing stabilization efforts in the country.
The AU mission said in a statement on Thursday that the Joint Operations Coordination Center, which is jointly operated by AU and SNA military officers, will enhance joint planning and coordination of military operations against al-Shabab.
Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, SNA chief of defense forces reiterated SNA's commitment and emphasized the importance of collaboration between SNA and AMISOM in running the centers established across the mission's areas of responsibility.
The latest center is one of six centers recently established across the country to boost stabilization efforts.
William Kitsao Shume, deputy force commander of AMISOM in charge of operations and plans, said the launch of the center was an important milestone in achieving a shared goal of having fully operational centers across the country.
"We will be jointly planning, coordinating and synchronizing current and future operations together. Therefore, we will be able to optimize the utilization of combat support and combat service support together as we plan for our operations," Shume said.
Don Nabasa, AMISOM Sector One Commander said the establishment of the center and several others across the country, would help address some of the challenges faced by both forces.
The center, which is composed of various cells from administration, intelligence, operations, logistics, to communications and civil-military Coordination, will enable the allied forces to get a clearer common understanding of the threat situation, and enhance operational effectiveness and collaboration.
