The UN Security Council gave on Friday the green light to a new African Union force expected to be deployed within days to Somalia to help counter the radical Islamist militant group Shebab.

The decision was adopted by the votes of 14 of the 15 members of the Security Council. The USA stayed away due to reservations about its financing and provides for the replacement from 1 January of the African Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) by the African Union Support and StabiliSation Mission (AUSSOM).

Until its planned withdrawal on December 31, ATMIS will continue to have over 12,000 men as Sebab fighters continue to pose a major threat to the country.

Somalia and Ethiopia were invited to participate in the SA meeting without having the right to vote. The Somali representative on the occasion explained that the inclusion of military personnel in AUSSOM was decided by bilateral agreements, concluded in November with the countries that intend to participate, speaking of 11,000 men.

Egypt announced on Monday that it would contribute forces to the new mission. Somalia had already announced that Ethiopia would not participate, as relations between the two countries have been strained since Addis Ababa signed a deal with Somaliland separatists to gain access to the sea.

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After months of tension, Mogadishu and Addis Ababa struck a deal to end it. Burundi will no longer contribute troops, a source in that country’s armed forces told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The adopted text includes the possibility of using a mechanism created by the Security Council last year and envisages the deployment of an African force with a UN green light to be financed by up to 75% by the international organisation.

Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebaab “Youth” has been fighting Somalia’s internationally backed federal government for more than fifteen years to impose its own fundamentalist version of Islamic law in the country, one of the poorest in the world.

Source: AMNA

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