The African Union (AU) Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) announced on Thursday that the first phase of troop departure from Somalia has been completed, with the transfer of military sites in Mogadishu and the southern area.
Mogadishu’s Aljazeera One training military camp and Jubaland State’s Geriley base in southern Somalia, according to ATMIS, were turned over to Somali security forces on Thursday.
“This brings the total number of Forward Operating Bases (military bases) handed over to Somalia security forces to six, while the Marka Ayub facility was closed,” Shitanda Terence Soita, Geriley base commander, said in a statement published by the African Union mission in Mogadishu.
Aljazeera The Uganda People’s Defence Forces manned one training military base, while the Kenya Defence Forces manned the Geriley base.
ATMIS is set to remove 2,000 personnel by the end of June, and another 3,000 by September, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 2628 and 2670, which require ATMIS to transfer over security duties in agreed-upon regions to Somali security forces.