UN Suspends Pullout of African Union Troops from Somalia as Battles with Militants Rage

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday suspended for a period of 90 days the pullout of African Union troop from Somalia, where fighting rages with al shabaab. 

The decision follows a request by the Horn of Africa nation for the forces to remain in the country to help in the fight against the al-Shabab extremists.

Somalia’s request was supported by the African Union, all countries that contribute soldiers to the force and the council, which agreed to delay the pullout of the 19,000-strong AU force for 90 days.

Last year in April, the 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.

ATMIS replaced the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, which has been in the Horn of Africa nation for 15 years helping peacebuilding in Somalia.

However, the new force was to be withdrawn in phases, starting last June, when 2,000 soldiers left Somalia and handed over six forward operating bases to federal security forces.

The second part of the pullout began in September in line with the U.N. resolution which anticipates the withdrawal to be completed by December 2024.

Somalia’s government last year launched a crackdown on the militants who control parts of rural central and southern Somalia. The group has for more than a decade carried out devastating attacks while exploiting clan divisions and extorting millions of dollars a year in its quest to impose an Islamic state.

The current offensive was sparked in part by local communities and militias driven to the brink by al-Shabab’s harsh taxation policies amid the country’s worst drought on record.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has made the fight against Al-Shabaab one of his key priorities since being elected in May last year. Federal troops backed by local militias, African Union Forces and U.S drone strikes, have helped the central government recover swaths of territory previously been held by the Islamic extremist group.

But Al-Shabaab continues to carry out attacks in Somalia, including in the capital of Mogadishu, and in neighboring countries like Kenya, where its fighters have targeted civilians and security officers along the border towns with Somalia.

In September this year, the foreign ministers of the five ATMIS troop contributing countries (Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda) sent a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Security Council President Ferit Hoxha expressing “strong support” for Somalia’s request to delay the drawdown of ATMIS troops by three months.

The letter called for a “technical pause” in the planned drawdown of 3,000 ATMIS personnel, which Somalia formally requested in a recent letter to the Security Council.

It argued the delay is necessary to address critical security challenges highlighted in a recent Joint Technical Assessment (JTA) report before proceeding to the next phase of drawdown.

The foreign ministers echo Somalia’s concerns about ensuring comprehensive security plans are in place for population centers around bases closing or handing over to Somali forces. They also cite the need to accommodate ongoing offensive operations against al-Shabaab and recent setbacks like the August attack in Galguduud.

While underscoring their commitment to the eventual full drawdown of ATMIS troops by December 2024, the ministers believe the proposed 90-day pause will provide time to devise solutions to the JTA-identified challenges and enable a smoother transition process.

The appeal for a technical pause represents the consensus view of the ATMIS troop contributing countries as Somalia continues to navigate the complex security transition process.

The Security Council will now consider the request as it weighs the next steps for the UN’s role in Somalia.