Talks kick off on the second phase of the ATMIS troop’s drawdown from Somalia

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Top government officials met with their African Union and United Nations counterparts in Mogadishu Thursday to  deliberate on the upcoming second phase of the troop drawdown in September.

Affording to African Union officials, the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is expected to scale down its troop numbers next month by a further 3,000 personnel after successfully withdrawing 2,000 troops and handing over six military bases in June.

Mohammed El-Amine Souef, the special representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia and head of the ATMIS, said a joint technical committee with its membership from the ATMIS, the government, and the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) has been meeting to map out the military bases where the 3,000 troops will be drawn from.

“Since we have active combat operations ongoing, the planning of the drawdown must be well synchronized and seamlessly executed so the gains made thus far are not jeopardized,” Souef said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, Wednesday evening.

During the meeting held in Mogadishu, Souef lauded the UN and the government for their steadfast support and collaboration with the ATMIS to ensure the success of the first phase.