African Union Extends ATMIS Troops Presence in Somalia in Wake of Al-Shabab Attacks Resurgence
African Union peacekeepers from Uganda provide security as Somali lawmakers arrive to cast their vote in the presidential election, at the Halane military camp in Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, May 15, 2022.
Muhammad OsmanOver the past few weeks, Al-Shabaab*, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda*, has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks across the country, including the Somali capital city of Mogadishu. Two recent attacks on November 5 and October 30 took the lives of at least 115 people.The African Union Peace and Security Council has announced the extension of the operational timelines of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in response to a request from the federal government of Somalia to delay the withdrawal of the military forces in support of the nation’s counter-terrorism efforts.“[We are] Reaffirming AU’s solidarity with the people and the Government of Somalia in their aspirations for durable peace, security, stability, and prosperity, for the benefit of the region and the Continent as a whole,” the AU Peace and Security Council said in a press release.The decision to keep members of the ATMIS military forces for longer comes after a recent resurgence of terrorist attacks by al-Shabaab*, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda*. Starting next month, the AU was planning to withdraw 2,000 ATMIS forces by the end of this year, and complete the withdrawing process of all ATMIS troops by the end of 2024.Following the decision, the first phase of the pull-out of ATMIS forces will take place in June 2023, while the AU commitment to the gradual withdrawal of all ATMIS troops by the deadline of December 31, 2024 is not going to be changed.
“[The AU] Commends the intensified efforts being deployed by the FGS in the fight against Al-Shabaab and encourages the Government to equally redouble its efforts in force generation and integration in order to effectively assume full security responsibilities in Somalia after the phases drawdown of troops, while noting that due priority be given to force protection for ATMIS personnel,” the council said.
In February, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was reconfigured as ATMIS in the wake of a resolution by the United Nations calling for assistance in rebuilding Somalia’s security forces to battle terrorism. Later on, ATMIS’ role shifted from purely a combat force by adding a civilian technocrat sector with a mandate to assist the East African country’s reconstruction efforts.Earlier this month, al-Shabaab was accused of carrying out a suicide bombing attack that killed at least 15 people at a military base in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. The attack came days after two car bomb attacks in the capital on October 30. The suicide bombing, claimed by the terrorist group, left over 100 people dead and more than 300 others injured.Terrorist attacks by the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab group, which has managed to take control some parts of Somalia, usually target the country’s capital. In 2017, the extremist group targeted the same spot that was attacked last month in a truck bombing, resulting in the death of over 500 people.*Terrorist organizations outlawed in Russia and many other states