Mogadishu (KAAB TV) – The African Union (AU) and the Somali government have reached an agreement to deploy 2,500 Ethiopian soldiers as part of the new peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The mission, named AUSSOM (African Union Support Mission to Somalia), also sees Egypt contributing around 1,100 soldiers, according to a recent report from the United Nations Security Council.
The total number of military forces authorized to participate in AUSSOM, which officially began in January, is just under 12,000 soldiers, excluding police and other security personnel. Uganda is set to send 4,500 soldiers, while Djibouti and Kenya are expected to contribute 1,520 and 1,410 peacekeepers, respectively.
The Somali Operations Coordinating Committee (SOCC), which oversees the peacekeeping operations, has confirmed these troop contributions. AUSSOM officially replaced the African Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) earlier this year but continues to face funding challenges despite support from the AU and the UN. A report from August 2024 highlighted that fewer than 13,000 of the 20,000 soldiers originally designated for ATMIS are currently in Somalia.
AUSSOM is slated to operate until the end of 2028. Along with the military personnel, several hundred police officers from Egypt, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone are scheduled for deployment in Mogadishu, Jowhar, and Baidoa, as indicated in the UN report.
According to Somalia’s national security adviser, military operations have already begun in cooperation with AUSSOM and Somalia’s national forces.
These developments come as attacks by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab have intensified, including a recent attack on a convoy escorted by the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.