Mogadishu, Feb 3 (IANS): The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) said that it has handed over a new hospital facility designed to provide quality treatment and care to Somali security forces involved in the fight against al-Shabab across the country.

Somalia's Minister of Defense Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur said the 68-bed facility located in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, would go a long way in providing urgent medical attention to soldiers and other security officers wounded on the battlefield, Xinhua news agency reported.

"This facility is critical to the safety of our soldiers engaged in the fight against terrorism," Nur said in a statement issued in Mogadishu on Thursday evening.

Chief of Defense Forces Odowaa Yusuf Rageh said the opening of the facility was a significant step in the transition process and hailed the collaboration which enabled the successful implementation of the project.

ATMIS built the facility as a Quick Impact Project, which is aimed at bringing basic services closer to the people and involves the construction of schools, health facilities, police stations, and the sinking of boreholes, among other necessities.

Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson for Somalia Mohammed El-Amine Souef said the facility will help improve treatment and care offered to Somali security forces as they continue their offensive against al-Shabab militants.