MOGADISHU, April 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council has dissolved the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), paving the way for a transitional organ that will manage the complete handover of security responsibilities to the Somali army in 2024.
The new organ, which was also approved by the United Nations (UN) Security Council, is the Africa Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
In a statement, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres rallied partners to ensure sustainable and predictable funding for the new organ, ATMIS, to enable Somalia’s security transition.
“We look forward to working closely with the African Union, Federal Government of Somalia and all partners to support a phased handover of security responsibilities to Somali security forces,” Guterres said.
According to the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, ATMIS’s mandate is “to support the Federal Government of Somalia to implement the Somali transition plan and transfer security responsibilities to the Somali security forces and institutions.”
The new deadline for troops to leave Somalia is December 2024.
In 2007, Uganda was the first country to deploy troops on the ground in Somalia. Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti are the other troop contributing countries.
“Building on the experiences and lessons of AMISOM, ATMIS, is designed to be more agile, more mobile, more flexible, and configured to have quick reaction forces and corresponding force enablers, as well as multipliers to better respond to emerging and evolving security threats.
Through ATMIS, the African Union will also realign its mission components and deployments across Somalia to better prepare the Somali Security Forces to take over the security responsibilities of the country by 31 December 2024, as guided by the Somalia Transition Plan. This will be done by prioritizing force generation, mobilisation, and integration as well as enhanced operational competence, and logistical support of ATMIS and the Somali Security Forces,” Adeoye said.
The AU Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said the new organ reflects the evolving situation in Somalia, and it is in line with the pursuit to restore lasting peace, security, and stability.
ATMIS started operations on April 1. — NNN-AGENCIES
