Somalia

[…] The African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, replaces the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, which has been in the Horn of Africa nation for 15 years trying to build lasting peace and security.

The mandate and capacity of a new operation should allow robust engagement to deal with underlying political conflicts.

Prominent Somali female lawmaker among 15 killed in bombing

A prominent Somali female lawmaker is among at least 15 people killed in a suicide bombing that hit a polling station in rural central Somalia, police said Thursday.

More Somali Leaders accused of undermining democratic processes have been slapped with sanctions that include visa restrictions by the US.

Somalia has again pushed back the deadline for completing parliamentary elections, which are already more than a year overdue, because of political disputes.

The American military is asking President Biden to station several hundred commandos in Somalia to help blunt the spread of al Qaeda’s aggressive local affiliate, al-Shabaab, according to  U.S. officials.

[…] The AMISOM mandate expires on March 31, but the UN Security Council is expected to vote on March 30 to replace it with a new mission, the African Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

The United States government has announced visa restrictions to Somali officials and individuals, accusing them of “undermining the democratic process in Somalia”, after yet another delay in the parliamentary elections.

Somalia’s leaders must put aside their differences and urgently conclude a credible election process, the UN’s senior official in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday, noting that national elections are now more than a year behind schedule and women’s representation remains significantly off-track.

AMISOM was a child of necessity, birthed in the context of an exacerbated Somali conflict and the emergence of the ICU in 2006 as the dominant force in the fight for the control of Mogadishu.