Uganda hosts meeting on evaluation of AU military mission in Somalia

The President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, met with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Kampala March 2023[Photo: State Media]

The much-anticipated meeting on the evaluation of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] has kicked off in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, with the conference coming amid reports that the federal government of Somalia is plotting to seek an extension in the country.

Among those attending the meeting include top officials from ATMIS headquarters in Somalia, Troop Contributing Countries such as Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, as well as Somalia, and representatives from international partners who are critical in supporting the mission.

The conference is expected to among others, discuss the smooth implementation of the Somali Transition Plan [STP] which would lead to the withdrawal of a number of soldiers from the current 23,000 force ahead of handing over security responsibilities to the Somali National Army [SNA].

Last year, the United Nations Security Council endorsed the African Union's commitment to adopt a strategic, gradual, sector-by-sector approach to the troop drawdown until the forces exit at the end of 2024. Somalia, despite making major progress in the fight against Al-Shabaab, has been facing sporadic retaliatory attacks from the group.

A report by TheEastAfrican suggested that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud may seek an extension of ATMIS stay in Somalia with the sole aim of dealing with insurgency but the reports were refused by Villa Somalia's National Security Advisor Hussein Sheikh Ali, who insisted that the country is keen to implement the STP.

"This is false reporting. The Federal Government of Somalia is committed to taking responsibility for security in Somalia from ATMIS as it mandated UNSC resolutions 2628 am 2670 by December 31, 2024. We are focusing on post-ATMIS eventuality."

At the meeting's opening, Ambassador Julius Joshua Kivuna, Head of the Ugandan Delegation and Head of the Regional Peace and Security Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the meeting had been convened at the request of the Federal Government of Somalia.

"During the US-Africa Summit in December 2022, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of Somalia, requested HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of the Republic of Uganda, to host the Heads of State of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, ATMIS, to discuss the status of implementation of our mandate and come up with resolutions on the way forward. That's why we are here," he said.

Recently, ATMIS projected the number of dead soldiers to be at 3,000 since the mission started in 2007, noting that thousands of others have been critically injured. According to the mission, over $200 million has been used as compensation to the families of both deceased and injured soldiers throughout the same period.

GAROWE ONLINE