Uganda, Ethiopia to Contribute Most Troops to African Union Mission in Somalia
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Staff Reporter GAROWE ONLINE
- Posted On 07-04-2025, 09:29AM
MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) will contribute the highest number of troops to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), following the authorization by the federal government of Somalia.
To bolster the fight against Al-Shabaab and ISIS militants, Ethiopian troops number was capped at 2500 and will officially join the mission following operationalization in January after the transition from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
AUSSOM mandate shall end in 2028 following a resolution by the United Nations Security Council with the team set to focus on empowering Somalia security forces in areas that have been liberated from the al-Shabaab militants.
Fewer than 12,626 total troops are authorized—down from ATMIS’s larger deployment—reflecting Somalia’s growing insistence on overseeing foreign military involvement within its borders.
For Ugandan forces, the federal government of Somalia authorized 4,500 soldiers, the highest in the setup while Egypt is expected to send around 1,100. Djibouti and Kenya also join the mission with 1,520 and 1,410 peacekeepers, respectively.
The troop composition was confirmed by the Somalia Operations Coordination Committee (SOCC), which oversees the deployment of peacekeeping forces. The original number of soldiers deployed to the mission in Somalia was 22,000.
Participation of Ethiopian troops had been challenged following a controversial agreement between Addis Ababa and the breakaway region of Somaliland but the matter has since been solved. Ethiopia embraced mediation talks brokered by Turkey with Somalia.
Egypt will also participate in the new arrangement after it agreed to support Somalia’s Stabilization Mission. However, the move had initially been objected to by the Ethiopian government which is involved in a dispute with Cairo over the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam.
GAROWE ONLINE
