MOGADISHU, March 22 (Xinhua) — MOGADISHU, March 22 (Xinhua) — In Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, a revised Somalia Transitional Plan was agreed, with the goal of replacing the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) with a new mission.
The Office of National Security’s strategic steering group approved the updated Somalia Transition Plan (STP) on Monday, paving the path for a smooth handover of security responsibilities to Somalia’s security forces.
“The strategy sets the way for AMISOM to be phased out, with the Transitional African Union Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) taking its place by the end of 2024,” the presidency stated in a statement released Monday evening.
It stated that the updated STP is a critical step for Somalia before the UN Security Council adopts the new ATMIS mandate. The meeting also agreed on the strategic goals and objectives that define the ATMIS operation’s operational mandate, as well as the termination and withdrawal plans, all in accordance with Somali government requirements.
Somalia and the African Union have agreed to replace AMISOM with ATMIS, pending approval from the African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council.
Participants at the conference, which included leaders from the government and the international community, applauded the STP’s execution, emphasizing the government’s full readiness to hand over national security to Somalia by 2024.
AMISOM is a peacekeeping mission with roughly 20,000 troops on the ground, mostly from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti. Its mandate was set to end in 2022.