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Less than four months to the expiry of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) mandate, the continental body’s Peace and Security Council has endorsed the plan for the creation and deployment of a new force, to be known as the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (Aussom).

The AU-led post-Atmis force, whose size, scope and mission duration are still undecided, is expected to mobilise troops from several willing countries, deploy and start operations on January 1, 2025, mainly protecting the Somali civilian population from al-Shabaab attacks.

In a communique dated August 1, 2024, the Peace and Security Council (PSC) in its 1225th sitting, said it had adopted the strategic Concept of Operations (Conops) for Aussom, submitted by the Commission after extensive consultations with Atmis, the Government of Somalia, the United Nations and other international partners.

The PSC communique indicates that Egypt will debut troops deployment in Somalia, joining ranks with regional countries such as Uganda, which has had troops in the Horn of Africa nation since 2007, and has already signalled intent to be part of the new force.

The other current troop-contributing country that will deploy under Aussom is Djibouti, the communique says, but does not mention Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi, which also have had uniformed personnel in Somalia for over a decade.

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