Somali ambassador Abdikharin Farah: «Send more troops within the next few weeks.»

© afrol News / AU

afrol News, 19 July - The African Union (AU) has decided to extend its weak and underfinanced peacekeeping mission in Somalia as a foreseen UN mission to the war-ravaged country has not yet been decided on. Still, only Uganda is contributing with 1,500 troops to the AU mission in Somalia while other pledged contributions fail to materialise.

The Peace and Security Council of the AU, which is united in Addis Ababa, yesterday discussed the situation in Somalia as the six-month mandate of AU peacekeeping mission in that country (AMISOM) was to expire today.

Originally, the AU had been given indications that AMISOM would be replaced by a UN mission after this initial six-month period. The African mission was given great international support when it was launched, with Western countries promising to make generous contributions to its funding and the UN saying it would take charge when the situation in Somalia was more stabilised.

But things have not gone as planned to the AU in Somalia. Resistance to the pro-Ethiopian government turned stronger and more profound than foreseen. Funds for the peacekeeping mission came late and were smaller than hoped. And given these problems, African countries turned sceptical sending their troops to Somalia.

In January, the AU Security Council decided on the establishment of AMISOM as an African peacekeeping mission of 8,000 troops with a mandate to take over the role of Ethiopian troops in Somalia and securing the position of the transitional government in Mogadishu. Uganda, Nigeria, Burundi, Malawi and Ghana soon pledged to send troop contingents to make sure AMISOM would gather enough strength to complete its mission and hand over a more stable Somalia to UN peacekeepers in July.

But so far, only the early-arriving Ugandan troops have been sent to Somalia. AMISOM thus only consists of 1,500 Ugandan troops. The Ugandan peacekeepers thus only can assist Somali government troops and the still Ethiopians in securing a fragile stability in Somalia.

And there are few signals that this situation will change in the short run. The UN will not take over until Somalia is far safer than now and the AU experiences a donor fatigue when it comes to ever-unstable Somalia. No progress is observed when it comes to recruit AMISOM troops from other African countries.

With yesterday's decision in Addis Ababa, AMISOM is to be extended for another six months, until January next year.

But the AU Security Council also expressed its criticism against stakeholders, being concerned "that the lack of adequate financial and logistical support has seriously affected the deployment of the troops pledged by member States for AMISOM." It urged member states and partners "to provide the necessary financial, logistical and technical support to make it possible for AMISOM to rapidly attain the authorised strength" and called on African states to "contribute troops and other personnel."

The AU Council also repeated "the need for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation in Somalia that will take over AMISOM and support the long term stabilisation and post-conflict reconstruction of Somalia." As the UN Security Council still was unwilling to take on its "responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security," including Somalia, it should at least "put in place a financial, logistical and technical support package for AMISOM," the AU urged.

The Somali ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikharin Farah, was content with the decision to extend AMISOM's mission by six months. "We believe six months will be ample and sufficient time, then the United Nations will come. That is what we are looking for," he said at a press conference in Addis Ababa. Reliable peace had been prevailed in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia, Mr Farah held.

Meanwhile, the lack of stability in Somalia continues to take its toll on the civilian population. The Islamists are launching surprise attacks on a continuous pace, with most victims being civilians. At the same time, one million Somalis are now facing a major food crisis, according to the UN.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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