MOGADISHU, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has honored 17 police officers for distinguished service in the Horn of Africa nation.

The officers from various police contributing countries (PCCs), who have completed their tour of duty, were decorated with medals and awarded certificates for their dedicated service in Somalia.

Christine Alalo, Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, in a statement issued on Tuesday lauded the officers for their dedicated service and called on others to emulate them in their duties.

"It is a call to everybody that when you are here, put in your best because we are here to ensure that we lift our Somali counterparts from the stage where they were to the next stage, which should be even better than where we found them," Alalo said.

The achievements of the group, Alalo noted, include helping revive the Interpol Department of the Somali Police Force (SPF), establishment of a data base and helping the Somali Police set up a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) security system.

Of the 17, seven officers are from Kenya, six from Sierra Leone, three from Uganda and one from Zambia. Other Police Contributing Countries (PCCs) include Nigeria and Ghana.

The AMISOM official also lauded regional countries for deploying the officers to Somalia, saying the gesture was a sign of true Pan Africanism of helping a neighbor in need.

The AMISOM Police component is made up of the Formed Police Units (FPUs) and Individual Police Officers (IPOs). FPUs provide operational support, while the IPOs train, mentor and advice the SPF officers.