Top officials of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), and the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) have jointly announced the recommencement of the second phase of ATMIS troop withdrawal from Somalia in December.

As directed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2710 (2023), ATMIS will withdraw 3,000 troops from Somalia and transfer control of eight (8) Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) by the end of December 2023.

Authorities said that this process originally intended to conclude by the end of September 2023, was halted following a request by the Federal Government for a technical pause.

The Head of ATMIS, Ambassador Mohamed El-Amine Souef, together with Somalia's National Security Advisor, Hussein Sheikh Ali, and the Head of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), Assistant Secretary-General, Dr Aisa Kacyira Kirabo, announced during a joint media briefing at Villa Somalia - the seat of the Presidency in Mogadishu.

"After extensive discussions at the tripartite technical level among the three parties and in line with the directives of the African Union Communique and the UN Security Council Resolution 2710, today we jointly announce that ATMIS will resume and complete the drawdown of 3000 troops by December 31, 2023," said Ambassador Souef.

Ambassador Souef noted that since the technical pause in September, ATMIS, FGS, and UNSOS had worked collaboratively to put in place measures to resume the process as set forth by the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council.

"I want to assure you that we are ready to continue supporting the transition and the drawdown to fulfil the mandate while we continue to provide logistical support for ongoing operations. We understand that even as we drawdown, other operations are ongoing," said the Head of UNSOS, Dr Aisa Kacyira