The British government has praised the work of the Somaliland police force and noted that it has made efforts to develop the forces, especially the counter-terrorism unit (CTU).
The sentiments were made during a debate in the British Parliament on Monday 06 February 2023, MP Kenny MacAskill asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth, and Development on the funds intended for the Emergency Response Unit of the Somaliland Police and the amount injected in the sector up to 2020.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Economic Development Mr. Andrew Mitchell in response said, “The UK has been supporting the reform of Somaliland’s security and justice sector since 2011. This has included working to improve the effectiveness of the judiciary and prosecution, the police, the coast guard and forces, in accordance with international law, and in line with international standards of human rights.
Mr. Mitchell said that UK funding for the Somaliland Police Rapid Response Unit was up to March 2020.
He revealed that the UK will put more focus on the CTU.
He pointed out that the CTU has achieved significant operational successes and its capacity to conduct modern investigations prosecuting high-profile terrorism cases has been fruitful.