Comorian diplomat takes over ATMIS leadership in turbulent transition time
By T. Roble
GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Comorian diplomatic Souef Mohamed El-Amine has been picked by the African Union to head the African Union Mission Transition in Somalia (ATMIS), about seven months after his predecessor was kicked out by the Somali government.
El-Amine reported to duty on Saturday in Mogadishu following his appointment by the Africa Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki. Before taking up the post in Mogadishu, El Amine was the head of the regional office for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in Gao a position he served from August 2020.
El Amine, who is also a prolific writer previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Commorro from May 1999-July 2005 and later took up the same position between May 1999-July 2005. The new ATMIS chief also served as the head of the regional office for the African Union –United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in Sudan between April 2011 and September 2015.
WAR ON AL-SHABAAB
The Comorian national takes over Francisco Madeira of Mozambique who was declared persona non grata in April 2020 by former Prime Minister Mohamed Roble for ‘engaging in acts that are incompatible with his status.” The two leaders differed over the management of elections amid accusations that the AU diplomat was siding with then-President Mohamed Farmaajo.
El Amine now takes leadership at ATMIS at a crucial period when Somalia is firmly in the grip of an ongoing military operation against the militant group Al-Shabaab. The operation is backed by civilian militia which has been fighting alongside the military in central regions of Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle and Galgagdud.
Importantly also, El Amine will be leading the remaining part of the two-year transition period for the AU force. The transition started in April this year when the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was retired and taken over by ATMIS although the force composition and contribution remained largely the same.
SOMALI TRANSITION PLAN
The two-year transition period is set to end in April 2024 upon which it is expected that the Somali Security Forces will take over security responsibilities. However, that timeline will largely be dictated by the prevailing conditions in Somalia chiefly, the preparation of the SSF.
Already there are indications the Somali Transition Plan (STP), a government framework guiding the transition process has suffered some lags. Somali Permanent Representative to the UN Osman Abukar told the UN Security Council on Thursday that the Somali government had requested an extension ‘on the December 30th deadline to overtake some of the Forward Operating Bases from ATMIS.’
It is not clear how much time Mogadishu is seeking to conclude this milestone. Somalia has also been pegging its success against Al-Shabaab on the lifting of the arms embargo imposed by the UN in 1992. However, the Security Council voted on Thursday in favour of another one-year extension.
Abukar said the vote would undermine efforts by the Somali government adding the Somali National Army has in the last four months since the start of the Al-Shabaab campaign ‘that utilized a major portion of their armaments.’ Abukar said, “with these renewed sanctions on Somalia, the situation of armaments is becoming unsustainable.”
El Amine will also need to rebuild and repair relations and confidence with the Federal Government following accusations that his predecessor played politics contrary to his mandate.