African Union officials from countries contributing troops to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) gathered in Kampala, Uganda, this week to review and evaluate the mission’s performance in Somalia, amidst reports suggesting that the Somali government may seek an extension for the mission.
The four-day meeting, which began on April 24, 2023, includes officials from the African Union Commission, ATMIS Mission Headquarters, Troop Contributing Countries such as Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, as well as Somalia, and representatives from international partners.
The objective of the meeting is to discuss the seamless implementation of the ATMIS troop drawdown, with the initial phase involving the withdrawal of 2,000 troops from Somalia set for the end of June 2023 under revised timelines. The UN Security Council unanimously 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.
However, a recent report in The East African suggest that Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud may want the force to stay beyond the December 31, 2024 exit date, indicating the challenges of dealing with the Al-Shabaab insurgency. Although President Mohamud’s National Security Adviser, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, has denied these claims, the situation highlights the complexities surrounding the ATMIS mission.
“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 & 2670 by December 31, 2024. We are focusing on post-ATMIS eventuality.”
The Kampala meeting will also evaluate the readiness of the Somali Security Forces to assume security responsibilities from the African Union troops, including force generation and logistical support. This comes at a critical time as Somalia has been working on training and recruiting at least 24,000 soldiers by December 2024 to take over from ATMIS.
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.
Ambassador Kivuna also emphasized the significance of the meeting in assessing the performance of ATMIS and facilitating preparations for the phased handover of security responsibilities to the Somali Security Forces.
“The meeting provides a crucial platform for us to be able to deliberate on pertinent issues about ATMIS and, most importantly, to evaluate the achievements made in the execution of the ATMIS mandate,” he added.
Monday’s meeting precedes further meetings to be held by Permanent Secretaries, Chiefs of Defence Forces, and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence for ATMIS Troop Contributing Countries.
The meeting recommendations will contribute to the ATMIS Head of State Summit scheduled for Thursday this week.
