Somalia

On January 22, news began breaking of agreement between the Somali government and the African Union (AU) Commission on the future of the AU intervention mission in Somalia.

At least four people died and nine were others wounded Tuesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant near an army barracks in the Somali capital, police officials and witnesses said.

At least nine people were killed Wednesday in a suicide car bombing that targeted a government security convoy near the airport in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. … The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they targeted a convoy escorting Somali government and foreign officials.

The Security Council today adopted a resolution reauthorizing the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) until 31 March 2022, ahead of a phased handover of responsibilities to Somalia’s security forces early next year.

[…] The security situation remained volatile, with a monthly average of 273 incidents recorded. Most incidents continued to be perpetrated by Al-Shabaab.

Eight people were killed and over a dozen injured in a car bombing near a school in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday, police said, in the latest attack claimed by Al-Shabaab jihadists in the troubled country.

[…] The AU conducted an independent assessment of the mission’s future in May and presented four options in October: … As 2022 nears, talks continue with no sign of agreement on the horizon.

Although progress has been made in Somalia’s electoral process, it has been slow and uneven, the UN Special Representative for the country said in a briefing to the Security Council on Wednesday.

The UN mandate for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will expire on 31 December 2021. Fatigued financial donors want reforms and perhaps cuts, while the AU and troop-contributing states seek reliable funding. Somalia’s government relies on the mission but is nonetheless ambivalent about the need to maintain it.

A 15-member team of the African Union Peace and Security Council met with senior Somali officials in Mogadishu on Tuesday and discussed the future of AMISOM peacekeeping operations. Tensions are running high after the Somali government expelled an AU deputy special envoy last week.