A new U.S. decision will give the United Nations another year to wind down its support for African peacekeepers in Somalia, offering temporary relief to a mission facing an uncertain future.
The United States agreed to back a 12-month drawdown of the UN operation supporting the force, according to a diplomatic document seen by Reuters. The move provides the peacekeepers with more time to prepare for a funding and logistics transition, but does not remove the threat to their long-term survival.
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Reuters reported in July that Washington, increasingly frustrated by the fragile administration in Mogadishu, had said it would block continued UN support for the African Union force. The mission supports Somalia’s government and helps it battle al Qaeda-linked militants.
Analysts have warned that any weakening of the African Union peacekeepers would severely undermine the government there and could exacerbate the political turmoil in a combustible region bordering the Red Sea.
‘A REAL RISK OF STATE FRAGMENTATION’
The peacekeepers, known as the AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, depend heavily on UN assistance for basic operations, including food, water, fuel, medical care and troop transport.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which has retreated from a number of international commitments, told the African Union in a diplomatic note in July that it would use its influence to prevent the UN from supporting the mission from the beginning of next year.
But in a second diplomatic note seen by Reuters and circulated among embassies last week, Washington said “the United States is willing to support a 12-month drawdown followed immediately by liquidation” of the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS).
Absent that 12-month period, financing could have ended in December, when the mandate of UNSOS expires. Two diplomatic sources and a Somali government source said the new 12-month countdown would begin in January.
A spokesperson for the US State Department told Reuters that Washington would no longer fund or support the UN office in Somalia, which has a total budget of around $500 million.
“We would expect any drawdown processes and timelines to be discussed during UN Security Council deliberations in December,” the spokesperson said in a statement. Five diplomatic sources and the Somali government source, all speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the 12-month deadline.
Somalia’s defence ministry, UNSOS and the African Union Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
FUNDING GAPS
The decision gives Somalia and its partners additional time to seek alternative backers, while leaving the peacekeeping mission’s future under serious pressure.
“AUSSOM is a key pillar of Somalia’s state,” Afyare Elmi, a professor at the City University of Mogadishu, said. “Without it, the country would face a real risk of state fragmentation and disintegration.”
Samira Gaid, a regional security analyst, told Reuters that ending UNSOS could ultimately bring AUSSOM to an end.
“The AU either (needs) to find alternative logistics arrangements or to draw down and exit,” she said.
Financial support for the AU mission has grown increasingly uncertain, producing a major funding gap.
Washington blocked a plan last year to adopt a financing model under which UN funds would have covered three-quarters of the peacekeeping mission’s $190 million annual budget.
Somalia has endured chaos and internal conflict since autocratic ruler Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Islamist militants have expanded their hold over rural areas and, two decades ago, captured the capital before a joint Ethiopian and Somali government force drove them out.
Reporting by Faisal Ali in Mogadishu and Ammu Kannampilly in Nairobi; Editing by Andrew Heavens
