AU Council to discuss new mission in Somalia as ATMIS prepares for December exit

The African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will deliberate on the Concept of Operations (CONOPs) of the new mission scheduled to take over from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) that fully exits the country in December this year.

The new mission dubbed the AU Stabilization and Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) is scheduled to enter the country starting in December this year.

According to the draft CONOPs, the mission will be made up of about 11,000 personnel comprising civilians, and military and police personnel who will be deployed in four sectors for four years.

The mission will run through three phases in addition to the pre-mission phase that will see them prepare to enter the war axis and reorganise areas of deployment as ATMIS completes its final exit to allow for careful coordination between the exit of ATMIS and its entry.

The other phases are scheduled to be implemented from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026, Jan 1, 2027, to December 31, 2028, and January 1, 2029, to December 31, 2029, before a post-mission phase kicks off to liquidate the mission.

Friday's deliberations on the new mission's CONOPs will also delve into probable sources of funding for adoption in the hope that the new mission will not suffer the funding shortfalls that befell ATMIS.

The CONOPs were developed after the council, in June, tasked ATMIS to consult with the Federal government and relevant stakeholders to develop them, including its configuration, mandate, and timelines of deployment and duration.

In the communique of its 1217th session, the AUPSC requested, "That a dedicated funding mechanism, through UN assessed contributions under UN Security Council Resolution 2719 (2023) ...be established to guarantee the financial stability of the mission."

The Council said the new mission will focus on further degradation of al Shabaab and providing security and protection of civilians, assisting the county in stabilizing and enabling state-building priorities to ensure a coherent and orderly transfer of security responsibilities to the Somali authorities and its force.

It further decided that the mission must be given a strong political mandate with scope, size, posture, composition, and duration aligning with security threats and the Somali Security Forces' readiness and capability to assume full responsibilities.

To meet these requirements, the council had said it would in consultation with the UN Secretariat, develop financing options for the new mission and at the same time, engage with more partners to consider options for mobilising resources for the requested phased-down approach to the stage three drawdown of ATMIS.

Phase three of the drawdown was scheduled to be completed by September but was slowed down on Somalia's request because its full implementation could lead to capability gaps that may have significant implications for the security of Somalia and the wider region.