The African Union (AU) convened an emergency meeting in Addis Ababa on Friday to discuss the future of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) following the United States’ decision to end its support for the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) after AUSSOM’s current mandate expires on 31 December 2026.
The high-level meeting brought together Chiefs of Defence Staff and senior military officials from member states serving on the AU Peace and Security Council to assess the implications of Washington’s decision and consider options for sustaining the mission in Somalia.
According to an official letter issued by the African Union Commission, the U.S. Mission to the African Union formally notified the AU on 1 July 2026 that Washington would no longer support UNSOS, the UN logistical support office that provides essential assistance to AUSSOM’s operations across Somalia.
The emergency session, held at the Julius Nyerere Building at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, focused on evaluating the operational, logistical, and financial consequences of the U.S. decision, as well as developing an emergency roadmap to address the anticipated funding gap.
The meeting was convened under an official AU communication dated 2 July 2026, which invited members of the Military Staff Committee (MSC) representing countries on the Peace and Security Council, including Somalia, Uganda, South Africa, Algeria, and several other member states.
Officials discussed contingency plans aimed at preventing disruptions to AUSSOM’s operations, amid growing concerns that the withdrawal of U.S. support could significantly weaken the mission’s ability to maintain security gains against Al-Shabaab.
The United States has justified its decision by citing the limited progress made in defeating Al-Shabaab despite nearly two decades of international support.
Washington has argued that, after years of substantial financial investment, Somalia has yet to assume full responsibility for its own national security, making continued funding increasingly difficult to justify.
UNSOS remains a critical component of AUSSOM’s operations, providing essential services including air transportation, medical evacuation, engineering support, construction of military facilities, communications equipment, fuel, and logistical supplies for African Union forces deployed throughout Somalia.
The decision is expected to have significant implications for Somalia’s security architecture, as the Federal Government continues to rely heavily on AUSSOM in its military campaign against Al-Shabaab and in securing key government institutions and strategic locations.
Since the launch of the African Union mission in Somalia in 2007, first under AMISOM, later ATMIS, and now AUSSOM, the United States says it has contributed nearly $2 billion to support the mission.
Washington has also provided approximately $1.6 billion in bilateral assistance to troop-contributing countries, in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars for Somalia’s security forces and billions more in humanitarian assistance, stabilization programs, and development projects.
The AU is now expected to intensify consultations with the United Nations, the European Union, and other international partners to identify alternative funding mechanisms and ensure that AUSSOM can continue operating beyond the end of 2026 without jeopardizing regional security or ongoing counterterrorism efforts in Somalia.