New AU Security Force Starts Mandate in Somalia Amid Uncertainty Over Composition

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The new UN mandated African Union Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) commenced operations in Somalia on Wednesday in line with the dictates of the UN Security Council.

The Security Council adopted resolution 2767 (2024) on December 27 mandating the AUSSOM to operate in Somalia until the end of this year.

The composition of the current outfit remains unclear owing to disputes over the inclusion of Ethiopia which has had long running diplomatic fall out with Somalia. At the Security Council last week, Somalia’s Deputy UN Envoy Mohamed Yusuf said Mogadishu secured 11,000 troops to operate uner AUSSOM through bilateral agreements with troops contributing countries.

“Regional partners from troop-contributing countries have shown remarkable solidarity, pledging to maintain our necessary force of 11,000 troops,” Yusuf said, adding, “This commitment addresses any security vacuum created by Ethiopia while sustaining progress in the fight against Al-Shabaab in the country.”

However, in a statement Wednesday, AUSSOM chief Mohamed El Amine did not make reference to any changes to the AU force composition signalling the continued stay of Ethiopian troops.

A similar case has also arisen with Burundi after it emerged that the East African country had threatened to pull out its troops from Somalia after it was allocated around 1,000 slots against its demand of 2,000.