EU boosts Somalia peacekeeping mission

Offers 120m Euros as ATMIS marks one year

Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is marking one year since its mandate began with a shot in the arm: Euros 118 million ( Approx. Shs481 billion) from the European Union for its 2023 operations.

Annette Weber, EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, announced the new funding on March 27 at the UN Security Council Private Meeting on Somalia in New York.

Weber told the UN Security Council; the world’s most powerful body, that 85 million Euros has been allocated for the military component of ATMIS and an additional 33 million Euros for its civilian and police components for 2023 and 2024.

In her statement, Weber said the allocations for this year bring the EU’s total support to the UN mandated mission so far to more than 2.5 billion Euros since its inception.

“We urge other partners to also contribute to the mission and stand ready to engage in a discussion on how best ATMIS can support current operations,” she said.

By other partners, the EU’s top diplomat for the Horn of Africa meant the U.N., U.S., and Uganda which have been invested in the peace keeping mission that was called AMISOM until April 1, 2022. The transition to ATMIS envisioned a transition to Somali-led security as stipulated in UNSCR 2628 and 2670.

Uganda was the first country to send troops to Somalia in 2007 at the start of the mission and maintains an estimated 6,000 troops in the country. Others like Burundi followed and now there are troops from Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, as well.

Weber in her address revealed that the EU is also increasing its support to the Somali National Army to Euros 25m. “Timelines are ambitious and linked to significant reform of the Somali security sector. The benchmarks requested in UNSCR 2628 have been formulated jointly by the FGS, UN, AU and EU in the Quartet,” she stated.

As the 27 member bloc pours more resources into Somalia, Weber also had not so good news for the UN Security Council and Somalia’s friends like Uganda.

“Now, almost exactly a year into the ATMIS mandate, very few of these benchmarks have been achieved,” she said and added, “We urge implementation by all actors and encourage long-term planning, including with the TCCs (troop contributing countries) and the AU, on a post-ATMIS security architecture.”

The EU just does not provide only cash to ATMIS but has also been involved in training of Somali forces. In 2010, the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) Somalia was created to train Somali forces and for the first four years it was conducted at Bihanga, Ibanda in western Uganda before it moved to Somalia.

EUTM Somalia had trained 7000 personnel by August 2020 according to some assessments. Roughly half of these formed infantry units, with the rest being a mix of specialist units, non-commissioned officers (NCOs), officers and trainers. In 2021, there was provision of military equipment by EUTM for Somali forces with the European Peace Facility. The European Peace Facility is an off-budget funding mechanism for EU actions with military and defence implications under the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) framework.

Uganda’s staying power

Uganda has been vital to the peace and stability of Somalia as seen through the visit to Uganda by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on March 18 for a pass out ceremony of over 3000 trainees of the Somalia National Army at the Special Mission Training Centre in Butiaba, Buliisa district.

The training is administered by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF). The UPDF also trains the Somali troops in Somalia on top of its efforts as the most prominent troop contingent in the peacekeeping mission in the Horn of Africa.

The trainings are constant because the Ugandan military believe the Somali National Army is inadequately prepared for takeover of their country despite transition being at the centre of the ATMIS mandate.

Mohamud had a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni at State House Entebbe where the two discussed the sixteen year old mission. Museveni told the Somali leader to build a national army with the right ideology to defend the country. “This is the problem with many West African countries. The collapse of the security apparatus is caused by mixing defense with money,” Museveni was reported as saying during the meet.

Get peace first and money later, Museveni told Mohamud and his delegation. Museveni’s advice appeared timely just as the EU was about to make the announcement for its renewed financial support to the mission. With cash from the EU and troops from Uganda and the rest, ATMIS has stood the test of time.

There are more intricate reasons why Uganda remains a key partner to Somalia according to key players like Maj. Gen. Nathan Mugisha, Uganda’s deputy ambassador to Somalia. “Uganda is doing the heavy lifting. Three quarters of the work in Somalia is on Uganda’s shoulders,” Mugisha told this reporter last year. You cannot conclude a chapter without consulting Uganda, he said. “You will need to know what Uganda is thinking.”

“Apart from the host nation, the next player is Uganda,” Mugisha said of Uganda’s influence.

Gen. Mugisha’s tour of duty in Somalia is almost equal to the length of the mission. He served as AMISOM commander from 2009 until 2011. After, Museveni tapped him for his current role.

In the years of the UPDF intervention in Somalia, the Ugandan army worked to secure Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle Airport, the country’s only airport, and other installations. They also ventured into new territory – social support services such as treating the sick in a country that has barely had a working government for years.

The Ugandan army is also in charge of the security at State House Mogadishu. The UPDF are largely tasked with the security of Somalia as the Somali National Army finds its footing in the country which is three times larger than Uganda.

Lt. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga, a former UPDF Contingent Commander in AMISOM, broke down some of the dynamics in a meeting with journalists in Mogadishu in December 2017. “Any force that comes here needs to first understand the clan dynamics in Somalia,” he explained, “You have to be a friend to all clans because there is heavy rivalry between them.”

“Once you are in Somalia, you realise Al Shabaab is not exactly the problem,” General Kayanja said. “There are times when a clan can unite with Al Shabaab say when a force is simply intent on capturing local territories without anything it is offering to the local population, they will say ‘we have a common enemy’.”

With two tours of duty in Somalia, Kayanja is another experienced hand when it comes to Somalia dynamics and partly because of that, he was rewarded by the Commander in Chief. Kayanja is now the Commander of UPDF Land Forces and he oversees UPDF operations in Somalia.

In March, Uganda deployed a new contingent of police personnel to serve under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). “The total of 160 personnel who will serve under the ATMIS Police component’s Formed Police Unit (FPU), will work alongside other contingents and Individual Police Officers (IPOs) to provide operational support and capacity building to their counterparts in the Somali Police Force (SPF),” said an ATMIS statement.

ATMIS is the largest multilateral peace operation in the world with 18,586 military personnel as of December 2022 according to SIPRI, a military thank tank.

U.S. involvement

In the matrix of partners involved in the fight against Al Shabaab, the U.S. is also stepping up efforts. The New York Times in a March report described Somalia as “the most active front” in the forever wars that America has been waging since 9/11. In Somalia, the U.S. State Department is training an elite commando unit called Danab which is also advised by U.S. Special Operations Forces.

The Danab has been active in the fight against Al Shabaab whose resilience has always proved a test for ATMIS forces and other external groups like American forces. There are also 450 U.S. troops in Somalia advising the Somalia National Army. The Times reported that after an attack by Al Shabaab in January, Somali officials asked for more American firepower including drone strikes. The U.S. spends about $80 million a year to train, equip, and other provisions on the Danab, according to the report.

But Gen. Kayanja in a meeting with journalists in Mogadishu warned about the Americans saying their presence had always been a complicated factor. He said their poor understanding of Somalia’s internal dynamics was a major problem in spite of their military superiority and financial resources.