UN pledges to support Somali security forces to the core

On the final day of a four-day visit to Somalia, UN Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare pledged that the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) would do everything in its power  to ensure that the Somali Security Forces could take full control of security responsibilities as African Union peacekeepers gradually withdraw.USG Khare emphasized that in order for the AU and the UN to achieve a successful transition, Somali Security Forces must take over full security responsibilities from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) with the assistance of UNSOS. 

“In order for a successful transition to be realised, ATMIS responsibilities have to be taken over by the Somali Security Forces, and the common entity which serves both is UNSOS,” he said.

On Sunday, Khare traveled to Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug State, where he met with Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and other senior officials. Those discussions centered on the ongoing military offensive against Al Shabaab militants, the withdrawal of ATMIS troops, and UNSOS assistance in post-ATMIS Somalia.

“I am confident that under the leadership of the President that Somalia will win the war against Al-Shabaab and other armed groups trying to disturb the peace and security and thereby compromise the economic prosperity and development of this country,” he declared.

Khare visited Dhusamareb Airport Forward Operating Base (FOB) while in Galmudug, which has been designated for handover in the second phase of ATMIS troop drawdown, as mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 2687(2023). The exercise, which involves the withdrawal of 3,000 troops, is scheduled to end by the end of this month.

He expressed satisfaction with the progress made in establishing and strengthening institutions that will be in charge of securing Somalia after ATMIS departs.

Other UN dignitaries who met with USG Khare included Catriona Laing, the UN Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM); Anita Kiki Ghebo, the UN Deputy Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United  Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM); Anita Kiki Ghebo, George Conway, the UN Deputy Special Representative and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. The high -ranking UN official also met with ATMIS’s top management, Ambassadors from Troop  Contributing Countries in Somalia, representatives from the International Community, and UN country teams, among others.

Diplomats from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, the United States, the African Union, and the European Union, among others, met with USG Khare.