Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, the president of Somalia, gave assurances on Tuesday that the African Union forces, who are expected to leave the country at the end of 2024, will be replaced by the Somali army. He deemed the offensive’s results, which are currently halted, to be “encouraging” against the radical Islamist Shebab.
This offensive against the al-Qaeda-affiliated group that has been leading an insurgency against the Somali authorities for 16 years was started in the country’s centre in August 2022. It has made significant progress but has recently stalled.
With the help of the African Union force (Atmis), the Somali army—which is linked to clan militias—was able to recapture a significant portion of the country, especially in the centre.
A three-month delay was requested and granted by the Somali government. Atmis, which was composed of soldiers from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, was scheduled to start a second phase of withdrawal in September with the departure of 3,000 troops.
At a London conference on Tuesday, hosted by the think tank Royal United Services Institute, Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud acknowledged, “It coincided with a moment when we had some setbacks (…) and we had difficulty reorganising ourselves.”
“But now we are ready. We can take over in December,” he clarified, adding that the security of the Somali presidency was a concern in this withdrawal as well. He promised that “we will not do it” when asked about potential new deadlines that his government might request by the end of 2024. The nation is currently working to compensate for its shortage of skilled military personnel.
