Friday September 1, 2023
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) has called on the international community to continue supporting the peacebuilding process to stabilize Somalia.
ATMIS Force Commander Sam Okiding said the world should back the peacebuilding efforts in key areas, including security force generation, lifting of the arms embargo, capacity building, deployment of critical force enablers, and provision of predictable and sustainable funding for ATMIS and the Somali government.
Okiding said the AU forces have maintained the gains made over the years by not losing any territory to al-Shabab across all sectors, thus achieving the mandate of protecting civilians, UN agencies and humanitarian agencies, among others. "It is one thing to capture, but it's also another to maintain. ATMIS has consolidated all those gains," he said in a statement issued in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Wednesday evening.
The ATMIS force commander lauded ATMIS forces for conducting joint military operations with the Somali security forces in the Galgaduud region after successfully neutralizing al-Shabab in the Lower Juba, Lower Shabelle, Hiran and Middle Shabelle regions.
ATMIS, together with the UN and the Somali government, has already completed a technical evaluation of the first phase and is now preparing to withdraw a further 3,000 troops, Okiding said.
The recommendations of the technical evaluation will be presented to the UN Security Council by Aug. 31, with a further update on preparations for the second phase expected by Sept. 15. The withdrawal of 3,000 AU troops in the second phase is expected to be completed by the end of September as per the UN Resolution 2687.
Okiding also reaffirmed ATMIS's commitment to supporting the ongoing Somali-led military offensive against al-Shabab militants to ensure peace and security in Somalia ahead of its exit in December 2024. "Our goal, as ATMIS and all stakeholders in this mission, is to see a more secure, stable, and prosperous Somalia at peace with itself and the rest of the world," he said.
The ATMIS force commander said the focus of ATMIS is to enhance the capabilities of the Somali security forces to take over the country's security responsibilities as ATMIS gradually withdraws its troops.
He lauded the Somali National Army for successfully taking over six military bases handed over in June, noting that ATMIS will continue to support the Somali-led transition process which will culminate in the handover of full security responsibilities by the end of 2024.
"One of our key roles is to make sure that we mentor the Somali security forces so that when we exit Somalia, there will be no security vacuum," Okiding said.
In the first phase of the drawdown completed in June, ATMIS withdrew 2000 troops and handed over six military bases in compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions 2628 and 2670 (2022).