Mogadishu (KAAB TV) – As of January 1, the efforts of the African Union (AU) to bring peace to Somalia changed names for the third time in 18 years.
Now known as AUSSOM (AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia), it began life in January 2007 as AMISOM (AMISOM) (AU Mission to Somalia) 15 years before it was renamed ATMIS (AU Transition Mission in Somalia) in April 2022.
In line with the support and stabilization components of its title, AUSSOM will work with the Somali Security Forces (SSF) to implement the Somalia Transition Plan (STP). The STP, according to the AU, is a comprehensive guide prepared by the Federal Government of Somalia and its partners for the transfer of security responsibility to the Somali National Security Force (SNSF). It was scheduled to transfer security responsibility to the SNSF in 2021 but that did not happen and saw ATMIS emerge to continue the security transfer.
In his New Year message to AUSSOM, Ambassador Mohammed El-Amine Souef, the Special Envoy of the African Union to Somalia, noted that ATMIS has made “significant progress” and has already transferred its operational bases. (FOBs) are called Somali Security Forces (SSF) message. The transfer is in line with the STP and shows that the SSF has acquired the necessary expertise to independently take over the responsibilities of the country’s security”.
During its working life, ATMIS – in collaboration with development partners – has launched so-called “immediate impact projects” to improve the lives of Somalis. Among them were wells that were sunk, classrooms were built, police stations and repairs were made to the police stations in the areas where Al-Shabaab was removed. AUSSOM will continue this work.