As planned, seven forward operating bases (FOBs) in Somalia are now Somali held and managed as part of phase one of the ATMIS (African Union Transition Mission in Somalia) drawdown.
Apart from FOB handovers the drawdown saw two thousand peacekeeping troops withdrawn. All was done in collaboration with the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS).
The seven FOBs – Xaaji Cali, Miirtugo, Cadale, Albao, Gherille, Aljazeera 1 and Marka Ayub – now have Somali Security Forces (SSF) personnel in charge.
The last two, Gherille FOB in Gedo region of Jubaland State was under the responsibility of ATMIS Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) while Aljazeera outside Mogadishu, was the responsibility of ATMIS Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
ATMIS Chief Logistics Officer, Colonel Bosco Sibondavyi, said the FOB handovers were an important milestone in implementation of the Somalia Transition Plan (STP), the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) and the UN Security Council Resolutions 2628 and 2670 (2022).
