African Union Transition Mission in Somalia ( ATMIS) has on Wednesday handed over a new forward operating base (FOB) to the Somali National Army.
This is the fifth military installation relinquished to the Somali Army as part of the second phase of the ATMIS troop drawdown.
Qorilow Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Hiraan region in Hirshabelle regional State, has been under the command of Burundi National Defence Forces (BNDF) from ATMIS since 2014.
Lt. Col. Jean Baptiste Nahishakiye, the ATMIS FOB Commander called on the SNA troops to enhance their cooperation with other security officers in the region in a bid to ensure the stability of area.
He said that the base played a pivotal role in the ongoing counter-terrorism efforts to flush out Al-Shabab from the Horn of Africa Nation.
ATMIS Force Headquarters Chief of Plans, Col. George Nkansah spearheaded the event of the hand over in which Lt. Harun Hassan, the incoming SNA commander for Qorilow FOB, signed the handover documents while Col Nahishakiye and Santosh Koka, drawn from the Transition Planning Cell, signed on behalf of ATMIS and UNSOS, respectively.
The incoming SNA base commander assured the outgoing ATMIS commanders that he would continue to bolster the security of the areas around the environs of the base and the region in general.
The hand over of the base comes two days after the Mission also handed over the security responsibilities of the Presidential Palace, the Prime Minister office and the Parliament House to Somali security forces in a ceremony witnessed by top Somali government and ATMIS officials in compliance with the UN security resolution 2710 (2023), mandating the withdrawal of 3,000 ATMIS troops by 31 December.
The Peace Keeping Mission in Somalia previously withdrew about 2000 troops in the first phase of drawdown and handed over six Forward Operating Bases ( FOB) mostly in Jubbaland State.