Somalia has increased the pace of its force generation, with newly arrived troops now active on the frontlines against Al-Shabaab

Regional leaders have endorsed plans to reduce the number of troops deployed in Somalia and allow Mogadishu to take full charge of the stabilisation of the war-torn country.

This was during the Extraordinary Summit of the troop-contributing countries held at State House Entebbe on Thursday.

According to a statement from State House, the leaders welcomed the initiative by the Federal Government of Somalia to “take full ownership and leadership of Somalia’s Stabilization Strategy, which marks a renewed momentum by the Government to restore state authority and provide basic public goods and services in liberated areas.”

The meeting also “agreed on the procedures for the drawdown of 2,000 ATMIS troops in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2670 (2022) and underlined the need for the joint assessment of the drawdown of 3,000 ATMIS troops.”

Under Resolution 2670 (2022), the UN Security Council unanimously endorsed the African Union commitment to adopt a strategic, gradual, sector-by-sector approach to the troop drawdown and maintain the ATMIS exit date of 31 December 2024.

The first phase of the drawdown, involves the withdrawal of 2,000 troops from Somalia, scheduled for the end of June 2023 under revised timelines. 

The summit was attended by presidents from the troop-contributing countries and their delegates.

These are: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia; Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti; Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi; Dr. William Ruto of Kenya; and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Demeke Mekonnen