Somalia

Somalia's government is seeking to slow the withdrawal of African peacekeepers and warning of a potential security vacuum, documents seen by Reuters show, with neighboring countries fretting that resurgent al-Shabaab militants could seize power.

The United States is sharpening its counterterrorism focus on Somalia, going after increasingly high-profile targets linked to a resurgence of the Islamic State terror group from its base in the Horn of Africa. U.S. officials are concerned that IS-Somalia, as the terror group’s regional affiliate is known, has moved from being a key cog in the Islamic State global financial network to hosting the group’s top leader.

ATMIS is scheduled to exit in December, and the AU could request funds under Resolution 2719 for a post-ATMIS mission. Institute for Security Studies sources say a new mission could expand the number and scope of troop-contributing countries to include contingents from East and Southern Africa. 

Clashes between two rival clans have killed over 55 people and injured more than 60 others in Somalia’s central state of Galmudug, officials and medical sources said on Monday. The ongoing clashes between the Dir and Marihan clans erupted Saturday morning in the vicinity of Laandheer village in Galmudug state.

Last December, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted Resolution 2719 to consider case-by-case requests from the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (AU PSC) to access UN-assessed contributions for peace support operations (PSOs). … The possibility of the AU requesting UN funds to bolster the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) has also emerged.

Somalia will expel thousands of Ethiopian troops stationed in the country to help with security by the end of the year unless Addis Ababa scraps a disputed port deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland, a senior Somali official said on Monday.

In a significant move to combat terrorism, the United Nations Security Council has sanctioned three leaders of the Al-Shabaab militant group following a request from the Somali government.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the designation of James Swan of the United States as his Acting Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).  

A high-level delegation from the African Union Commission has wrapped up their assessment visit to Somalia by vowing to preserve the hard-won stabilization gains achieved so far, ahead of the exit of the AU peacekeeping troops.

Somalia has earned new money to help it upgrade its security services in what officials said will help combat its perennial problem of Al Shabaab. This week on Tuesday, the European Union (EU) said it had approved €116 million ($117 million) for stabilisation efforts in Somalia via its Political and Security Committee. … This came as the UK announced a contribution of $2.8 million in support of Somali security forces via the UN Support Office in Somalia (Unsos).