Ahmed Murad (Mogadishu, Cairo)
Somalia is witnessing intensive preparations in preparation for the post-African Union Mission “Atemis” phase, which is scheduled to withdraw from the country at the end of this year, coinciding with calls by the Somali federal government to deploy multinational forces led by the African Union to replace the African mission, and to work to accelerate the establishment of Somali security forces to ensure that they assume responsibilities. effectively.
The Somali researcher and analyst, Sharhabeel Ahmed Ismail, explained that there are fears that members of the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement will return to the areas from which they were expelled as a result of the departure of the African mission forces, which had a major role in supporting the capabilities of the Somali army in facing security challenges, and preventing the movement from regaining power. Its control over some areas, hence the demands for the deployment of multinational forces led by the African Union. In a statement to Al-Ittihad, Sharhabeel stressed the importance of the multinational force replacing the African Union mission in a transitional period so that the departure of the African Union mission’s forces does not create a security vacuum that gives terrorist organizations the opportunity to expand within Somali territory again.
According to some observers’ estimates, the strength of the multinational force may range between 3,000 and 8,000 soldiers, and its role will be limited and mainly focused on securing government facilities and diplomatic missions. Sharhabeel said that the forces of the African Union Mission, which have been in Somalia for about 17 years, have contributed greatly to controlling the security situation in the country. No one can doubt or underestimate the importance of the African Mission’s role in operations against the fighters of the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement over the past years. He stated that the African Union Mission strongly supported the Somali army’s operations against the movement’s strongholds in many areas, and this is clearly evident in the painful military strikes directed by the Somali security forces against extremist organizations, which helped clear some areas after expelling Al-Shabaab fighters from them.
Recently, the African mission handed over about 7 operating bases to the Somali government, and its strength decreased from 22,000 soldiers to about 14,000 at the present time, and 4,000 soldiers are scheduled to leave next June.
In turn, the former Assistant to the Egyptian Foreign Minister for African Affairs, and a member of the COMESA Committee of the Wise, Ambassador Souad Shalabi, explained that Somalia is approaching the end of the longest peacekeeping mission carried out by the African Union, as it began in 2007 with the establishment of the “AMISOM” regional peacekeeping mission under the management of The African Union and the United Nations took over, after which the African Union Transitional Mission took over “ATIMUS,” which was assigned specific tasks in which security responsibilities were transferred to the Somali security institutions. Shalabi stated to Al-Ittihad that the ATIMUS mission is scheduled for three years (2022-2024) in order to carry out the main tasks, after which the African forces will gradually withdraw until the complete withdrawal ends in late 2024, and it has proven to be more flexible and capable of movement. From AMISOM, it is designed to have forces with the ability to respond quickly, while being flexible in responding to security threats, in addition to training and preparing Somali security forces to assume security responsibilities in the post-withdrawal phase.
A member of the COMESA Committee of Elders said that the Somali government forces are ready for the phase after the withdrawal of the African mission at the end of this year, which is confirmed by the government, which announced its readiness to take over security duties, and that it is able to extend its control and control in all tracks.
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