The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has held a workshop to discuss ways of reducing the number of civilian casualties in road accidents involving AMISOM convoys.

The workshop, which took place in Mogadishu, last week, was attended by stakeholders in AMISOM operations in Somalia, unified under the Civilian Casualty Tracking, Analysis and Response Cell (CCTARC). They included officers from transport, legal, operations, civil-military coordination departments in all the Mission’s sectors. Others included the provost marshal, public information officers, liaison officers, CCTARC, Board of Inquiry (BOI) and police officers from AMISOM Force Headquarters

The Civilian Casualty Tracking, Analysis and Response Cell (CCTARC) is a unit mandated to track and capture incidents and events involving civilian casualties in AMISOM areas of operation. The unit is currently coming up with strategies of reducing traffic accidents as a means of mitigating the loss of civilian lives.

Colonel Ali Nouhou, the AMISOM Chief of J7 Training, who opened the workshop, said there was need for AMISOM to come up with strategies to reduce road traffic accidents involving its personnel.

“It is for that reason that this workshop was organised so that stakeholders can come together and look at the root causes of these accidents and also find workable solutions to reduce future occurrences,” said Colonel Nouhou.

Highlights of the workshop included presentations on the implications of civilian casualties from a reputational, legal, investigatory and compensatory perspective.

During the discussions, participants identified the common causes of road accidents and also proposed recommendations on how to tackle the problem.

The common causes of accidents in AMISOM area of responsibility, participants noted, include; reckless driving, human error, use of defective vehicles and lack of traffic signs and traffic officers at road intersections.

Other causes identified include poor road infrastructure (narrow, uneven, underdeveloped roads), poor understanding of traffic rules and unattended livestock on the roads.

Some of the solutions proposed by participants are the creation of a road traffic management body to regulate motorists and pedestrians, communication campaign targeting road users, installation of road traffic signs, training Somali traffic police officers and ensuring the licensing of drivers.

CCTARC is expected to review the contributions made by participants and issue a report on action to be taken to reduce traffic accidents.

Source:amisom-au.or