Mogadishu (Al-Ittihad)
The African Union agreed to establish a new military force to combat terrorists in Somalia, to replace its current force scheduled to leave the country by the end of this year, amid fears of the increasing strength of Al-Shabaab militants, affiliated with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.
Forces from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi and Djibouti, part of the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), are scheduled to leave by the end of next December, after having participated in the fight against the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement since 2006.
The African Union said in a statement following meetings held this week in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, that Somalia requested the formation of a new force that will take effect as of next January to “weaken Al-Shabaab,” while ensuring “the orderly transfer of security responsibilities to the Somalis.” The statement continued, saying: “The new force must be given a strong political mandate, so that its scope, size, status and duration are consistent with current security threats.”
Somali officials confirm that 90% of the liberated lands are under government control, and that the Somali people are fighting terrorists in all corners of the country.
The African Union warned that the current gradual reduction of forces could have “major repercussions on the security of Somalia and the region as a whole.”
There are still questions about who will pay the costs of the alternative force, with the European Union, the current donor, not keen on continuing its funding mission, and wants the new force to be financed through the assessed contributions of member states of the United Nations, according to international media reports. Western officials connected to the file.
As for the African Union, in its latest statement, it called for using the same mechanism to pay for the new force, in addition to “supplementary funding sources.”
Official documents showed that the Somali government was seeking to slow down the withdrawal of African peacekeeping forces, in a letter it sent last May to the Acting Chairman of the African Union Peace and Security Council, in which it called for postponing the withdrawal of half of the African forces scheduled to leave by the end of this June. To next September, instead of the original schedule that sets next December 31 as the date for completing the withdrawal.
This is the timetable that the Somali government recommended, in a joint assessment with the African Union last March, to be amended “based on the readiness and actual capabilities” of the Somali forces.
The Somali demand to slow down the African forces and create a new force to replace them came amid warnings of a possible security vacuum, and in light of neighboring countries’ concerns about the possibility of the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement returning to control some areas of Somalia.
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