Fears over peacekeepers’ withdrawal

SOME Somali officials have started speaking out against Amisom (AU mission in Somalia) pulling out over the threats of insurgency that remain real despite a decade of foreign troop presence in Somalia.

Mohamed Ali Adle, the Interior Minister of Hirshabelle, a newly created state in north-eastern Somalia, said in a recent interview that it was not yet time for Amisom troops to pull out from Somalia.

“The work that was done by foreign troops is crucial here in Somalia, and in Hirshabelle in particular. Before there were no hospitals, schools and business, but now people are getting treatment in hospitals, children are getting education and business is booming.

But threats remain high, and that is why our local government asks Amisom troops to remain, Ali Adle said.

Hirshabelle is one of the fertile parts of Somalia due to its rains, and the Shabelle river is used for irrigation. Agriculture is modernised, and insurgents are believed to benefit from the economic situation through ransoms.

Hirshabelle is also located in Sector V, under Burundi’s Amisom command. Amisom in Somalia has six sectors divided between Ethiopia, Djibuti, Kenya, Burundi and Uganda troops.

Sources from Burundi military intelligence say Al Shabaab threats are real. They use explosive devices, hit-and-run tactics, and they hide within the population, making it difficult to hunt for them.

According to UN Security Council Resolution 2372, Amisom troops must start decreasing their numbers until all defence and security responsibilities are given to Somali National Army and Somali National Police in 2020.

According to Francesco Caetano Madeira, the top manager of Amisom, the withdrawal would be gradual and the AU would do its best “to keep all the progress made”.