Exits ATMIS, enters AUSSOM in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - It is not a secret that the mandate of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) will officially end in December 2024, following a new structural agreement with stakeholders, who have been working on its exit.

ATMIS, which transitioned from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in 2022, has been working on the exit plan from the Horn of Africa nation, with the deadline being December this year. Already, the drawdown of troops is ongoing.

A statement by the AU Political Affairs and Peace Committee revealed that the new AU-led mission to operate in Somalia from January 2025 will be known as the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). The new team shall automatically replace ATMIS.

Under the new plan, the Strategic Concept of Operations has been adopted, with Egypt and Djibouti offering to “contribute to the elements of the AUSSOM.” This means the two countries will be the pioneers of the new mission.

Currently, the third phase of the drawdown is underway, with an additional 5,000 soldiers expected to leave by October this year. The first two phases witnessed the exit of 5,000 troops all drawn from Contributing Countries which include Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.

Several bases have been handed over to the Somalia National Army as the withdrawal of AU troops continues with local forces and clan militia forming a formidable partnership in the fight against the Al-Shabaab militants across the country.

Whereas the AU maintains appreciation to the international partners in Somalia, there are questions about the capacity of the local forces to handle the militants once the mission troops leave. Previously, Somalia had maintained that it was ready to handle the pressure.

However, a close study of the security situation concluded that there was still a need for more technical and tactical support for local forces, even as they take over security responsibilities. This, AU says, precipitated the decision to introduce a new mission under AUSSOM.

Interestingly, Egypt, which has fiercely defended Somalia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, has been handed the mandate to lead the mission in what could be a technical lockout of Ethiopia, whose contribution towards Somalia’s security structures remains invaluable.

Ethiopia had signed a controversial agreement with Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, which would see it get access to 20 kilometers of the Red Sea for the construction of a military base and port in exchange for recognition of the autonomous region.

With Somalia irked by the move, National Security Advisor Hussein Sheikh Ali maintained that Ethiopia will not be part of the new mission, which starts in January 2025. It is not clear if the move will force all Ethiopian troops out of Somalia by that time.

The African Union joined the Somalia mission in 2007 when Al-Shabaab ran over Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Since then, the AU team has managed to assist local troops in liberating several strategic towns across the country.

GAROWE ONLINE