Somali Magazine – The East African country is currently seeing its second ATMIS (African Union Transition Mission in Somalia) soldier pullout in six months.
The “resumption” of the second phase was announced early in December in response to the Somali federal government’s request for a “technical pause,” according to an ATMIS statement.
The troop retreat, dubbed a “drawdown” by African Union (AU) mission communicators, was supposed to involve the evacuation of three thousand troops and the transfer of responsibility of eight forward operating bases (FOBs) to the Somali Security Forces (SSF). According to a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, a thousand troops would leave Somalia, joining the two thousand who left in the first phase. During this phase, seven FOBs were distributed.
Following the “technical pause,” protracted talks between ATMIS, the Somali government, and the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) resulted in “measures being put in place” to resume military withdrawal. The measures will reintroduce the withdrawal process standards established by the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC).
“I assure you that we are prepared to continue supporting the transition and drawdown in order to fulfill the mandate, while also providing logistical support for ongoing operations.” “We recognize that other operations are ongoing even as we draw down,” UNSOS Head Dr. Aisa Kacyira stated at the second drawdown statement.
Hussein Sheikh Ali, the Somali government’s National Security Advisor, stated that the “security transition process is progressing as planned” ahead of the Somali elections.