The planned withdrawal of the African Union military force from Somalia is progressing in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. The African Transition Mission (Atmis) must have transferred all its activities to the Somali army by the end of 2024.
Mission accomplished for the African force in Somalia: its first phase providing for the evacuation of the first 2,000 green helmets was officially completed with the transfer, in one month, of the control of seven of its forward operating bases, in particular the base Al -Jazeera 1 in the suburbs of Mogadishu as well as that of Gherille, in the state of Jubaland, in the south of the country.
Five bases had already been evacuated during the month of June and Somali soldiers had settled there. At each transfer, a military ceremony, with review of the troops, speeches and signing of documents, was organized by the UN, Atmis and the Somali federal government. On Saturday, it was Ugandan soldiers who packed up from the outskirts of Mogadishu and Kenyan soldiers who left Jubaland, bordering their country.
According to the decisions of the Security Council, at the end of 2024, none of the 20,000 soldiers and police officers of the Atmis will have to be operational on Somali territory. The transfer of command, however, must take place in several phases, according to a regularly reassessed rhythm given the fragility of the situation. At the end of September, an additional contingent of 3,000 men will thus hand over to the Somalis. There will still be 14,626 left.