Somalia, AU intensify funding push for AUSSOM before UN Security Council talks
MOGADISHU, Somalia — With the future of foreign military deployments in southern Somalia set to come before the UN Security Council in New York, Somalia and the African Union are racing to find the money needed to keep troops on the ground.
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The mission is increasingly taking shape through separate arrangements. Somalia is negotiating directly with frontline states, including Uganda, over bilateral deals that would allow their forces to stay outside the African Union’s formal framework. Funding remains unresolved for Ugandan troops stationed in the strategically vital Halane area near Mogadishu’s airport.
Mogadishu has also turned to Arab countries for financial backing, but pledges secured so far remain insufficient to ensure the mission’s continued funding. Somali officials have been dispatched to seek support; some returned empty-handed weeks ago, while others are still pursuing talks.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in October 2022 that Somalia would see its last foreign soldier leave by December 2024. That target expired after Al-Shabaab recaptured several areas previously taken by government forces, leading Mogadishu to concede that international military assistance is still required.
The Somali government now maintains that the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) will be needed until at least 2028. The position marks a shift from the original plan, under which Somali forces were expected to take gradual control of the country’s security.
Mogadishu has told Uganda that funding may be found to keep its troops in Somalia for another year, although neither government has released details of the proposed deal. At the same time, diplomatic efforts to obtain Arab financing continue, as Somalia and the AU work toward a sustainable funding arrangement before the matter reaches the UN Security Council.
AXADLETM
