Somalilandsun : The mysterious attack on the commander of Somalia police’s elite cheetah unit remains that, a mystery
According to a report by Mogadishu Times heavy fighting broke out between Somali government forces, mainly troops from the Cheetah unit and Somalia prison guards.
The exchanged of fire came after some prison officers raided the home of Cheetah Unit commander Farhan Mohamud Qaroole in Waberi district Mogadishu.
Witnesses said that soldiers from the elite unit held their sway inain protecting their commander Farhan and in the process managed to arrest some of the attackers who are currently being held at CID headquarters as investigations continue.
While motive for the attack on Farhan is not yet known officials from the Federal Government of Somalia have not yet commented on the attack in Mogadishu and the captured soldiers.
Special Police Unit
This Special Operations Command Battalion known as Ciidanka Haramcad in Somali (Cheetah Unit), was inaugurated in March 2019 after the first company of 120 police cadets of a force that is envisage to number between 600-800 men, graduated from the Mountain Commando School and Training Center, in Isparta Turkey in February 2019.
This unit has several responsibilities, to assist the Somali National Army in Counter-Insurgency operations in urban areas of Somalia, as a mobile reserve force, to pacify & police areas captured by the SNA allowing it to focus on its primary mandate in the short term of destroying Al-Shabaab as a fighting force in Somalia.
As well as providing security for critical installations & infrastructure such as the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, and the Green Zone, as well as providing security to large public gathering’s such as football fans during as Somali Football league match.
