Pressure is mounting on the African Union Commission to urgently mobilize resources for Somalia’s peacekeeping mission, as troop-contributing nations press for stronger financial and operational support.
At the Summit of Heads of State and Government of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), leaders emphasized the critical need for consistent, sustainable funding to bridge operational gaps and maintain momentum in stabilizing Somalia.
Held on April 25 at State House in Entebbe, Uganda, the summit urged the AU Commission, working alongside international partners, to craft a comprehensive Resource Mobilisation Strategy and Financing Plan for AUSSOM.
Leaders also called for the “rapid generation of forces” to address capability shortfalls, stressing that strengthening troop numbers would be vital to ensuring mission success and maintaining morale among deployed forces.
A key recommendation from the forum was the deployment of at least 8,000 additional troops to bolster AUSSOM’s operations, preventing any backsliding on the hard-won security gains achieved to date.
The summit further proposed enhancing the Somali National Armed Forces Training Command to support the structured training of Somali Security Forces. This would help foster a more unified and doctrinally coherent force generation process.
Member states also reaffirmed the need to counter extremist narratives effectively, particularly to undermine Al-Shabaab propaganda.
The high-level gathering was convened at the invitation of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda.
It was attended by a distinguished group of leaders, including Dr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (President of Somalia), Prof. Kithure Kindiki (Deputy President of Kenya), Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed (Prime Minister of Djibouti), Dr. Mostafa Madbouly (Prime Minister of Egypt), and Ayisha Mehamed Musa (Minister of Defence, Ethiopia).
Also present were Mahmoud Ali Youssouf (Chairperson of the African Union Commission), Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu (Executive Secretary, IGAD), James Swan (Acting UN Special Representative for Somalia and Head of UNSOM), and Aisa Kacyira Kirabo (Assistant UN Secretary-General and Head of UNSOS).
Representatives from the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States also participated.
The summit’s agenda included reviewing the security situation and performance of AUSSOM, updates on Somali Security Forces’ preparedness, progress in force generation, the status of Forward Operating Bases handed over to Somali forces, the AUSSOM exit strategy, funding mechanisms, and the proposed Peer Review Mechanism for oversight, accountability, and coordination of AUSSOM and the Somali Security and Development Plan (SSDP).
