STORY: SOMALIA - AMISOM Sierra Leone Foot Patrol TRT: 02:37 SOURCE: AU/UN IST RESTRICTIONS: This media

asset is free for editorial broadcast, print, online and radio use. It is not to be sold on and is restricted for other purposes. All enquiries to news@auunist.org CREDIT REQUIRED: AU/UN IST LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS DATELINE: 25 September 2013 /Kismayo, Somalia

SHOTLIST: 1. Wide shot AMISOM Sierra Leone troops listening to a briefing 2. Medium shot Lieutenant Joseph Adekule giving a brief 3. Close up AMISOM Sierra Leone soldier listing keenly during the brief 4. Medium shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers listing keenly during the brief 5. Medium shot Lieutenant Joseph Adekule showing the locations to be covered on a map 6. Medium shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers listing keenly during the brief 7. Medium shot, tilt AMISOM Sierra Leone soldier listing keenly during the brief 8. Wide shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers listing keenly during the brief 9. Medium shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers taking formation before the patrol starts 10. Wide shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers start the foot patrol 11. Medium shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers taking positions 12. Wide shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldier taking cover in the bush 13. SOUND BITE: Lieutenant Joseph Adekule.The aim of this patrol is to, patrol the Kismayo Gobweyn highway onto Gobweyn village. In order to clear all enemies along routes, al Shabaab elements along routes onto Gobweyn. Thats our aim. 14. Wide shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers walk along the Kismayo, Gobweyn highway 15. Medium shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldier's boots as he walks along the Kismayo, Gobweyn highway 16. Medium shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldier as he walks along the Kismayo, Gobweyn highway 17. Wide shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers approaching Gobweyn village 18. SOUNDBITE: Lieutenant Joseph Adekule. Its good personally for me as a soldier to serve and my boys as soldiers to serve in Kismayo, because during our war in Sierra Leone other countries donated troops to see us for that particular trouble and today we are here to do the same for another country , 19. Wide shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldier holding position outside Gobweyn village 20. Medium shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers holding position outside Gobweyn village

21. Wide shot AMISOM Sierra Leone soldiers entering Gobweyn village

STORY:

Members of the AMISOM Sierra Leone contingent stationed in Kismayo, Somalia have begun daily footpatrols as a way of deterring elements of the militant group al Shabaab from carrying out probe attacks.

Kismayo located just over 500 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu - the capital was formerly under the control of Islamist extremist group al Shabaab until October 2nd last year, when the severely weakened al Qaeda-linked group was pushed out by the Somali National Forces supported by AMISOMs Kenyan contingent. The Bravo combat team of the Sierra Leone army led by Lieutenant Joseph Adekule cross from , 6km north to the village of Gobweyn, which is where the militants now launch their probing attacks. This patrol in particular took two hours, with the bravo team ready to face al Shabaab ambushes and Improvised Explosive devices(IEDs). The aim of this patrol is to, patrol the Kismayo Gobweyn highway onto Gobweyn village. In order to clear all enemies along routes, al Shabaab elements along routes onto Gobweyn. Thats our aim. Lieutenant Joseph Adekule. After a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002, Sierra Leone has worked at transforming its army into a professional force that is now capable of contributing to international peacekeeping efforts. The 850 men that the RSLAF is sent to Somalia will is the largest-ever deployment of its troops since the war. Sierra Leone sent 100 troops to the UN/AU mission in Darfur. Its good personally for me as a soldier to serve and my boys as soldiers to serve in Kismayo, because during our war in Sierra Leone other countries donated troops to see us for that particular trouble and today we are here to do the same for another country , said Lieutenant Joseph Adekule.

At the moment Lt. Joseph Adekule and his team are stretched and can only patrol areas like Gobweyn instead of taking the position . But on Friday (11th October) in Addis Ababa leaders of the African Union (AU) endorsed to step up the number of the African Union Mission forces (AMISOM) in Somalia by 35% which allows fresh 6,235 troops to be deployed into Somalia, making the total number to 23,966. This

move will enable the Somali National Army and the African Union forces to push out Al Shabaab remnants in the countrys southern regions. ENDS