The process aligns with the UN Security Council's approval of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), aiming to enable Somali forces to assume full responsibility for security by the end of 2024.
The mission is targeting to pull out at least 3,000 more troops by the end of the month, out of the originally 19,626-strong AU force. / Photo: APThe pullout follows a timeline for the handover of security to the country's authorities, which are fighting Al Qaeda’s affiliate in East Africa —the Somalia-based Al Shabab.
Last year, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a new African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, to support the Somalis until their forces take full responsibility for the country’s security at the end of 2024. The mission is targeting to pull out at least 3,000 more troops by the end of the month, out of the originally 19,626-strong AU force. In the first phase, some 2,000 AU troops drawn from various member states left Somalia in June, handing over six forward operating bases.
On Sunday, the Burundian contingent handed over the Biyo Adde forward operating base in the south-central Hirshabelle state, near the capital of Mogadishu, to the Somali national army. Commander Lt. Col. Philip Butoyi commended the progress made by the Somali forces. "We have witnessed developments on the battlefield where Somali Security Forces have demonstrated their increasing capability to secure the country. We have seen the forces attack, seize, and hold ground," the mission quoted Butoyi as saying.
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