Amisom: Decision time for Kenya after years in Somalia

Kenya has a huge decision to make after the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) agreed to end its operation after 14 years in the war-torn country.

A new peacekeeping mission dubbed African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (Atmis) is expected to take over with a similar form and shape as Amisom, but with the aim of handing over security responsibilities to Somali forces by December 2023.

The decision to pull out of Somalia was arrived at after three-week talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The talks opened at the beginning of the year and centred on an exit plan for Amisom before its mandate expires in March. 

“Atmis shall have a clear command and control structure with empowered Force Headquarters having Opcom (Operation Command) over the forces to ensure strategic coherence with the implementation of the STP,” reads the new agreement.

In Somalia since 2007

Amison – a regional peace-keeping mission operated by the African Union (AU) with the blessings of the United Nations Security Council – has been in Somalia since January 2007, when it was given an initial six-month mandate to restore order in the war-torn country.

At that time, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) had just taken control of Mogadishu and was a pain in the neck of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (Igad’s) Peace Support Mission in Somalia (Igasom).

Igasom was, however, largely seen as an initiative of western countries by Somali citizens, which made it difficult for the mission to discharge its mandate.

This prompted the UN to adopt resolution number 1744 (2007) 13, which led to the creation of Amisom.

Al-Shabaab attacks

Kenya, which ventured into Somalia towards the end of 2011 following a series of attacks and kidnappings within its territory by the Al-Shabaab, formally joined Amisom in 2012.

There are about 3,500 Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) troops in the 20,000-strong Amisom army that includes soldiers from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti and Ethiopia. The soldiers are deployed in six sectors covering south and central Somalia.

Kenyan forces are responsible for Sector 2, which comprises Lower and Middle Jubba. Sector 3 comprises Bay, Bakool and Gedo.

The KDF has, however, given mixed signals on whether it will also withdraw from Somalia or its soldiers will stay on until the war-torn country is freed from Al-Shabaab.

Somalia’s displeasure

On the other hand, Mogadishu has openly expressed its displeasure with the presence of Kenyan soldiers in the country.

Calls in Mogadishu for KDF’s withdrawal have intensified following a ruling made last October by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over a maritime dispute with Kenya that largely favoured Somalia.

But with Amisom leaving, the KDF top brass led by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Robert Kibochi, have to play a leading role in the decision as to whether Kenya’s soldiers will be part of Atmis or not.

The AU has said that it expects a transitional period of nine months from Amisom to Atmis.

The new mission will also receive forces from other countries besides the current five-member states that have contributed troops to Somalia. The main focus of the new mission will, however, not be to maintain peace or bring stability but to help the war-torn country build capacity to manage its security affairs in the next two years.

“The federal government of Somalia, the AU, the European Union and the UN held a constructive meeting today on engagements in Somalia. Members welcomed AU modalities on future engagements,” the AU has said.

“The meeting agreed on the central role of the Somalia Transition Plan and the need for a timely finalisation of consultations on the strategic framework, the concept of operations, the joint report and a logistics support plan for a new mission,” said the AU.

More boots on the ground

It is expected that more boots will be added on the ground once the new mission starts taking over in March, handing Somali forces a much-needed boost in stabilising the country that has not known peace for more than 30 years.

The Somali government has already set a deadline for its security forces to assume security responsibilities by the end of 2023 as part of the requirements for Atmis to take over the roles of Amisom.

In order for this to happen, Atmis will after fully taking over the functions of Amisom carry out joint operations with Somali security forces for an initial nine months. The two forces will then carry out decisive operations against al-Shabaab for another nine months before Atmis forces begin a gradual withdrawal from the country.

In total, Atmis will stay in Somalia for about 33 months. This will take the total number of years that African troops will have been in Somalia to 18.

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