AU mission to withdraw more troops from Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] is preparing for the withdrawal of more troops from the Horn of Africa nation, just over two months after the first batch of soldiers left the country in compliance with the Somali Transition Plan [STP], which was approved a few months ago.

The second phase of withdrawal will target 3,000 troops carefully selected from various Sectors, with the prior arrangement seeing the exit of 2,000 soldiers selected from among the Contributing Countries. The June 2023 exit was termed as "successful".

Somali National Army [SNA] has already taken over the Forward Operating Bases [FOBs], with the country insisting that it has trained enough troops to take over from the foreign teams. A number of Somali soldiers have been trained in Eritrea, Uganda and some in Ethiopia, the government confirmed.

Mohammed El-Amine Souef, Special Representative of the African Union Commission in Somalia and ATMIS head, maintained that the withdrawal will go on as planned, adding that Somalia has shown some level of maturity in handling her own security.

"While continuing our combat operations, we're strategically withdrawing in a way that protects our achievements," Souef said in a statement from Mogadishu. He thanked the United Nations for the role it has played in making the first phase successful.

Head of UNSOS, Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, said there is a need to properly equip the Somali National Army so that it decisively deals with the Al-Shabaab menace upon the exit of the ATMIS contingent which has been in the country for the last 16 years.

"The UN's role is to ensure the equipment is in top condition and that Somali forces are equipped for its deployment," Kacyira noted.

Despite the ongoing withdrawal, Somalia has asked Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya to dispatch non-ATMIS troops to the country as it prepares for the second phase of operations. The second phase, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had said, will focus on Jubaland and Southwest states.

The Al-Shabaab militants have waged a fight back, managing to inflict losses on the Somali soldiers at Oswein village in Lower Shabelle, just moments after the SNA team managed to liberate the village. There are expectations among security forces in Somalia that the country is coming of age to manage her own internal affairs.

GAROWE ONLINE