The senior United Nations (UN) representative in Africa commended ATMIS (African Union Transition Mission in Somalia) and the Somali government for collaboration and joint efforts to stabilise the east African country.
Martha Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary General for Africa, spoke in the wake of a three-day visit to the Horn of Africa country.
She told her guests she leaves Somalia with “a lot of admiration”.
“This country has made great strides. I was here a couple of years ago and I see the progress. I want to assure each of you we gained insights that should help the UN to have a strategy that is more supportive, that aligns with the needs of the Somali people,” she is reported as saying in an ATMIS statement.
Additionally, Pobee said ATMIS and its predecessor, AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) were both “critical” in advancing peace and security.
Her visit, in part, was to strengthen collaboration between the mission, the Somali government and international partners to “shape the Somalia security situation” when ATMIS exits in December 2024.
“At this stage, I have to see how best we can fashion and design the post-2024 plan or configuration. Our role as a delegation is to talk to ATMIS, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and see how the security transition can be conducted in a way that enforces or consolidates the gains that we have made, great sacrifices involved and thanks to the men and women who have played a role in this,” she said.
She was told Somali Security Forces (SSF) conducted successful offensive operations and liberated areas previously controlled by Al-Shabaab terrorists.
