As of 1 January, African Union (AU) efforts to bring peace to Somalia changed names for the third time in 18 years.
What is now AUSSOM (AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia), started life in January 2007 as AMISOM (AU Mission to Somalia) for 15 years before being renamed ATMIS (AU Transition Mission in Somalia) in April 2022.
In line with the support and stabilisation 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 developed by the Somali federal government and partners for the transfer of security responsibility to Somali National Security Forces (SNSF). It was set to transfer security responsibility to THE SNSF in 2021 but this did not happen and saw ATMIS come into being to further the security transfer.
In a New Year message to coincide with AUSSOM’s arrival, Ambassador Mohammed El-Amine Souef, AU Special Representative for Somalia, noted ATMIS made “significant strides” transferring forward operating bases (FOBs) to what is called the Somali Security Forces (SSF) in the message. The transfer is in line with the STP and “shows that the SSF have acquired the necessary expertise to independently take over the country’s security responsibilities”.
During its operational life, ATMIS – working with development partners – initiated what is called “quick impact projects” to improve the lives of Somalis. These included sinking boreholes, building classrooms, police stations and rehabilitating police stations in areas liberated from al-Shabaab. AUSSOM will continue this work.
