Somalia
Somalia | AfricaCurrent Operations
AUSSOM
AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia
Authorization date: 01/25
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UNTMIS
United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia
Authorization date: 11/24
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EUCAP Somalia
EU Capacity Building Mission in Somalia
Authorization date: 12/16
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EUTM Somalia
EU Military Mission to Contribute to the Training of Somali Security Forces
Authorization date: 02/10
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News
The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) for another year, till Aug. 31, 2021.
With elections slated for November delayed due to COVID-19, Somalia is at a critical juncture, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council on Thursday, pressing federal and state leaders to agree on voting modalities, and bolster the capacity of forces which are meant to assume full control of national security, next year.
The town of Kuntuwaarey, in the southwest of Somalia, located 208 kilometers from the capital, Mogadishu, has for many years been a strategic stronghold for al-Shabab.
A huge blast rocked a military base in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu near a stadium on Saturday, killing at least eight people and injuring 14, emergency workers said, and the militant group al Shabaab claimed responsiblity.
The international community has expressed concern over the removal of former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire in a no-confidence vote. Somalia's fragile government controls only a portion of the country.
Somalia’s parliament has removed Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre in an unexpected vote of no-confidence, the speaker of parliament said. Holding a press conference Saturday after the voting, the speaker, Mohamed Mursal Abdurahman, accused the government of Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre of “ineffectiveness.”
The US has real but limited national security interests in stabilizing Somalia. Since 2006, Washington’s principal focus with regard to Somalia has been on reducing the threat posed by al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist insurgent group seeking to overthrow the federal government.
Firefights have broken out between federal Somali soldiers and troops from the Jubaland region. A heightened confrontation could embolden Al-Shabaab’s Islamist insurgency. The African Union should press Ethiopia and Kenya, which back Mogadishu and Kismayo, respectively, to coax the two sides into negotiations.
The likelihood of Somalia holding one-person-one-vote polls now appears less certain as five regional state presidents have endorsed an indirect election as long as it is held on time.
Since gaining independence on July 1, 1960, Somalia has faced civil war, clan conflict, secessions, and al-Shabab. The road to self-sufficiency for Africa's most culturally-homogeneous country is full of hurdles.