African Union Mission to Somalia

African Union Mission in Somalia
Dates of operationMarch 2007 – 31 March 2022 (15 years, 25 days)
HeadquartersMogadishu
Active regionsCentral and southern Somalia
Size20,626 (2019)[1]
Allies
Opponents
Battles and wars
Websiteamisom-au.org Edit this at Wikidata
Preceded by
IGASOM
Succeeded by
ATMIS

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a Multinational force formed by the African Union. The operation deployed to Somalia soon after the Islamic Courts Union was deposed by troops from Ethiopia during a large scale invasion in late 2006. The missions primary objective was to maintain the regime change between the ICU and the newly installed Transitional Federal Government, implement a national security plan and train the TFG security forces.[2] As part of its duties, AMISOM later supported the Federal Government of Somalia in its war against Al-Shabaab.[3] AMISOM was the most deadly peacekeeping operation in the post-war era.[4]

AMISOM was created by the African Union's Peace and Security Council on 19 January 2007 with an initial six-month mandate.[5] On 21 February 2007 the United Nations Security Council approved the mission's mandate.[6] Subsequent six-monthly renewals of AMISOM's mandate by the African Union Peace and Security Council have also been authorized by the United Nations Security Council.[7][8]

In March 2007, the first AMISOM troops deployed to Somalia, landing in Mogadishu as fighting was raging between Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian/TFG forces.[9] After four years of intense urban fighting against Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, during the Battle of Mogadishu (2010–2011) the Uganda Army and Burundian Army forced the militants to withdraw from the capital. In 2014, the Ethiopia was integrated into AMISOM.[10] In the succeeding years 2012-2015 a number of towns in the hinterland were recaptured, though most of the rural clans remained under Al-Shabaab rule.

The duration of AMISOM's mandate had been extended in each period that it has been up for review, until it was replaced on April 1, 2022, by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia. On 21 December 2021, the United Nations Security Council reauthorized AMISOM in Somalia for three months. The new mandate ran until 31 March 2022, ahead of a phased handover of responsibilities to Somalia's security forces in early 2023.[11] AMISOM's mandate ended on 31 March 2022, and was replaced by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.[12]

  1. ^ Hartwig, Jason (13 May 2019). "HOW TO END THE CIVIL WAR IN SOMALIA: NEGOTIATE WITH AL-SHABAAB". War on the Rocks. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  2. ^ Cocodia, Jude (3 April 2021). "Rejecting African Solutions to African Problems: The African Union and the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia". African Security. 14 (2): 110–131. doi:10.1080/19392206.2021.1922026. ISSN 1939-2206.
  3. ^ Musoma, Albert Lusiola (27 April 2021). "Military Diplomacy Strategies Applied by AMISOM in Restoration of Peace and Security in the Horn of Africa". African Journal of Empirical Research. 2 (1&2): 41–55. doi:10.51867/ajer.v2i1.5. ISSN 2709-2607.
  4. ^ Maruf, Harun (11 April 2023). "Exclusive: At Least 3,500 AU Soldiers Killed in Somalia Since 2007". Voice of America. Retrieved 22 July 2024. AMISOM is, by far, the most deadly peace operation worldwide over the last 80 years
  5. ^ "69th meeting of the peace and Security Council". Agence de Presse Africaine. 22 January 2007. Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2007.
  6. ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution 1744. S/RES/1744(2007) (2007)
  7. ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution 1772. S/RES/1772(2007) (2007)
  8. ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution 1801. S/RES/1801(2008) (2008)
  9. ^ Abdulle, Sahal (6 March 2007). "First AU peacekeepers arrive in Mogadishu". Relief Web. Reuters. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  10. ^ Yusuf, Mohammed (22 January 2014). "Ethiopian Troops Join AU Force in Somalia". Voice of America. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Security Council Reauthorizes African Union Mission in Somalia for Three Months, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2614 (2021) | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Somalia: Uncertain future as AMISOM transitions to ATMIS". The Africa Report.com. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.