Ethiopian troops will join the new African Union force (AUSSOM) deployed in Somalia from this January. New sign of a détente initiated between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu, in the wake of a reconciliation agreement signed last month under Turkish mediation.
Ethiopia will “collaborate” within the framework of the new African Union Support and Stabilization Mission (AUSSOM) in Somalia, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on January 3 in a press release, the day after an official visit to Somalia by a high-level Ethiopian delegation led by Defense Minister Aisha Mohammed Moussa.
Addis Ababa and Mogadishu “agreed to collaborate within the framework of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia and to strengthen bilateral relations”. They also promised to increase mutual official visits and discussions between officials of the two countries, indicates the press release from the Ethiopian diplomacy.
Somalia had previously refused the participation of Ethiopian troops in the new AUSSOM mission, as relations between the two countries became strained after Ethiopia signed a maritime agreement with the Somaliland region in January 2024. The agreement provided access to the Red Sea for Ethiopia, a landlocked country, in exchange for potential recognition of the independence of Somaliland by Addis Ababa, provoking the ire of the Somali government.
After months of estrangement, the leaders of the two countries, however, reached a reconciliation agreement, signed last month in Ankara, under Turkish mediation. After the meeting, the Turkish president described the agreement as “historic”, while the leaders of Ethiopia and Somalia agreed to begin talks to resolve the dispute.
AUSSOM, a new force of the African Union
On January 1, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission (AUSSOM) officially began its work, replacing the African Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
The decision to replace ATMIS with AUSSOM was taken by the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) at the request of the Somali government for support in the fight against the extremist group Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahideen.
Although the Somali army has around 32,000 soldiers, the government has told the African Union that it is short 11,000 trained soldiers due to the intensity of the fighting and the attrition of the military.
The UN Security Council gave the green light at the end of 2024 to the new African Union force in Somalia, through a resolution adopted by 14 out of 15 Council member states, with the United States abstaining, citing “reservations on financing”.
The Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahideen group (often referred to simply as Al-Shabab or Shebab) is an armed radical Islamist organization active primarily in Somalia and other regions of the Horn of Africa. It is considered a terrorist organization by several countries and international organizations.
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