More African Union troops withdraw from Somalia

Soldiers of the Burundi National Defence Forces serving with AMISOM begun a rotation of troops 26 August at Aden Abdulle International Airport. A battalion of BNDF who have served a one-year deployment as part of the AU mission in Somalia are being replaced by a new group of forces who begun their own 12 month tour of duty upon their arrival in the Somali capital Mogadishu. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Troops attached to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] have continued to leave the country in compliance with Somali Transition Plan [STP], with the Horn of Africa nation rushing towards taking care of her security responsibilities after years of turmoil.

On Tuesday, the soldiers handed over Cadale Forward Operating Base [FOB] to members of the Somali National Army [SNA] within HirShabelle state following the successful conclusion of the first phase of operations against Al-Shabaab, which left over 3000 militants dead according to official statistics.

The FOB was handed over by the Burundi soldiers, the third to be committed to the local army in as many days. The ATMIS team is working within timelines to conclude withdrawal of the first 2,000 soldiers by the end of June, with an additional 3,000 expected to leave by the end of September.

"ATMIS this morning handed over the Cadale Forward Operating Base to the SNA in the Hirshabelle State. It is the third FOB to be handed over as part of the 2000 troop drawdown by 30 June 2023," read the statement from ATMIS on Tuesday..

On Friday, ATMIS handed over the second FOB after Xaaji Cali to enable the mission drawdown 2000 troops by the end of June 2023. Located in Hirshabelle State, the Mirtiquo FOB has been under the responsibility of BNDF troops since 2016. There are close to 22,000 ATMIS soldiers in the country.

ATMIS soldiers along with their counterparts from the US Africa Command have been instrumental in the fight against the militants, who still control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia. The teams will shift focus to Jubaland and Southwest states in coming weeks.

Elsewhere, a senior member of Al-Shabaab surrendered to the Somali National Army in Baidoa, the current regional administrative capital of Southwest. Ali Ibrahim Abdi is said to be a key member of the militants in Bay and Gedo regions..

Ali, who spoke to military officials said he decided to defect from the terrorist outfit as he was concerned about the suffering inflicted upon the citizens of Somalia by the militants. He pledged to assist the Somali National Army in fighting the militants, adding that he was motivated by Somali nationalism.

GAROWE ONLINE