AU Troop Contributors to Meet in Uganda Over Somalia Mission

KAMPALA, Xinhua: Countries contributing troops to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) will meet in Uganda this week to assess operation progress, address funding shortfalls, and chart future strategies for the mission in the troubled Horn of Africa nation, a senior Ugandan official said.

Henry Oryem Okello, Uganda’s minister of state for foreign affairs in charge of international cooperation, revealed that technical officials, defense chiefs, and ministers will hold meetings to discuss military operations and strategies to secure funding from regional and international partners for the ongoing fight against al-Shabab militant group.

The meetings will begin on Tuesday and culminate in a high-level summit on Friday, Okello said.

“There have been various changes in the troop-contributing countries to Somalia. Over the years, the number of troops each country has been making to the mission has reduced. Burundi has decided to come out of the whole process. Egypt is proposing to join the process,” said Okello.

“Then also there is the issue of financing of troop contributing countries by the European Union and Americans, which has been held back for quite a few months now. So, all these matters have to be addressed and dealt with if the [peace] mission to Somalia is to be effective,” he said.

According to the AU, AUSSOM faces a critical funding shortfall of 90.4 million U.S. dollars for its military, police, civilian, and operational components between January and June 2025.

Troop-contributing countries to AUSSOM include Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.

“The Somalis have to get serious about taking over the security of their country. The Somalis have to stop depending on other countries to look and protect their own security,” said Okello.

“Apart from providing security against al-Shabab, we are also training and building capacity of Somali defense forces so that we can eventually be able to withdraw and allow them to look after their own security and tackle the issue of threats of al-Shabab. Somalia should eventually take full charge of its security,” he said.

Uganda was the first country to deploy AU peacekeepers into Somalia in March 2007, following a United Nations Security Council mandate authorizing the mission.