Somalia readies security handover plan as AU mission funding comes under strain
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government is moving to unveil a new security handover plan as questions intensify over how long international partners will keep financing the African Union mission, and after concerns surfaced in recent regional talks in Addis Ababa, sources said.
The proposal, which officials say is being drafted before a planned meeting in Kampala, is framed as a “transfer of national security responsibilities” from the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) to Somali security forces.
In recent days, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has met with senior security figures, among them commanders from the Somali National Army, to review preparations for Somali forces to assume control of several military bases now held by AU troops, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
The expected announcement comes as Mogadishu faces mounting demands to show it can take greater charge of the country’s security, with international backers increasingly focused on whether support for the AU mission can be sustained.
Some Western diplomatic representatives have reportedly cautioned the African Union and the European Union that funding may not continue, and that they could weigh the use of veto powers in forthcoming deliberations at the United Nations Security Council.
The AU mission has for years worked alongside Somali forces against Al-Shabaab militants, but persistent funding shortfalls have shadowed the operation as foreign partners reassess the future shape of security assistance to Somalia.
AXADLETM
