...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] has yet again handed over another Forward Operating Base [FOB] to the Somali National Army [SNA], despite the recent decision by the African Union to technically pause the withdrawal of ATMIS troops from the country.
At the United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
, the government of Somalia requested a technical pause on the withdrawal of ATMIS troops, citing logistical challenges. The request has since been granted after the African Union halted the withdrawal of 3,000 soldiers from various contingents in the Horn of Africa nation.
But on Wednesday, ATMIS announced the handing over of Raga Ceel FOB to the Somali National Army, who are supposed to take full security responsibility from ATMIS in December 2024, once foreign troops are withdrawn. Somalia believes that by then, al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...would have been completely neutralized.
According to ATMIS, soldiers attached to Raga Ceel will now join other contingents across the country in the fight against al-Shabaab. The troops are from Burundi, one of the major security partners of Somalia, a country that has struggled with instability for the last three decades.
"ATMIS today handed over the Raga Ceel FOB in Middle Shabelle to the Somali Security Forces. The handover is part of troop redeployment by both ATMIS and the Federal Government of Somalia [FGS] to boost military operations against Al-Shabaab in Hirshabelle State," ATMIS said.
"The ATMIS Burundi troops will now be redeployed to other regions to boost security in view of the three-month drawdown pause requested by the FGS.
The handover ceremony was facilitated by UNSOS and attended by senior military officials from ATMIS and SNA Force."
ATMIS intended to withdraw a total of 6,000 soldiers from Somalia by the end of this year, with the remaining to leave by December 2024. However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
the ongoing crackdown against al-Shabaab across the country may delay the projections given ATMIS's role in covering up SNA soldiers.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud traveled to Baidoa, the regional administrative capital of Southwest state on Wednesday, where is he supposed to assess the ongoing operations against al-Shabaab. A full military operation is yet to be activated in the state and the neighboring Jubaland.
Already, the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
has delivered military equipment including vehicles to the Somali National Army to enhance their capabilities in the ongoing war against the al-Shabaab al-Shabaab bad boys. This good gesture comes at the time Somalia is fighting for the lifting of the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council.