AU, UN reaffirm to enhance their state building efforts in Somalia

The African Union and United Nations missions in Somalia have pledged their support Somalia’s state-building process. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, the head of the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), and Mohamed El Amine Souef, the head of the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), visited Kismayo, a town in southern Somalia, where they met with UN and ATMIS staff to talk about ongoing operations against the al-Shabab terrorist group, as well as security and political issues. Souef urged the staff to keep imparting specialized training and knowledge to Somalia’s public servants in order to contribute to an increase in the number of skilled workers across various sectors.

“Somalia has made great progress, and that progress is due to the collaborative work with ATMIS and the UN in terms of improving security and fighting against al-Shabab militants. Today, people in Somalia can live safely,” he said in a joint statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

“I would like to remind you that we are here for a good cause to support the people of Somalia. Whatever we do, we should put their interests first,” Souef added in his address to the mission’s staff based in Kismayo. He noted that the successful re-establishment of state authority by the Somali government was a result of the collaborative efforts of the Somali leadership, ATMIS, the UN and other key international partners.

The AU representative implored the staff to assist in carrying out UN Security Council Resolutions 2628, 2670, and 2687, which direct ATMIS to help Somali security forces gradually assume control of security responsibilities before the mission’s departure from Somalia in December 2024.   ATMIS and its partners are getting ready to conduct a joint technical assessment on phase one of the ATMIS troop withdrawal, which was completed in June, at the time the two officials’ visit occurred. The second phase, which calls for the ATMIS to withdraw an additional 3,000 troops by the end of September, will be informed by the findings. A total of 2,000 ATMIS personnel left Somalia during phase one, and the Somali security forces received control of six military bases.