By Spy Uganda
HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni yesterday hosted fellow leaders, H.Es: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somalia), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti), Evariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), William Ruto (Kenya) and Rt. Hon. Demeke Mekonnen (Ethiopia) at State House Entebbe, for the Heads of State Summit of the Troop Contributing Countries to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
During the Heads of State Summit of the Troop Contributing Countries to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) held under Museveni’s chairmanship, the presidents deliberated on the procedures to implement the Somali Transition Plan which details the handover of security responsibilities to the Federal Republic of Somalia by December 2024.
”I welcome the initiative by Somalia to take full ownership and leadership of its stabilisation strategy. On behalf of other partner states, I commit our continued Pan African support, we shall not abandon Somalia in its alternative quest for security,” said Museveni.
”I thank Their Excellencies; William Ruto, Ismail Guelleh, Evariste Ndayishimiye, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Demeke Mekonnen for accepting my invitation for this summit.”
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia was formed on 1 April 2022, following the end of the AMISOM mandate on 31 March.
The mission is focused on both military and institutional autonomy of the Somali government as the African Union pulls out.
The mission’s mandate is set to end on 31 December 2024, when Somali Security Forces are expected to fully take over the security responsibilities of the country, guided by the Somalia Transition Plan. The first reduction of troops to ease into the end of the peacekeeping mission will take place in December 2022.
