AMISOM was first deployed in Somalia in 2007. It replaced another African mission that was called IGADSOM, a peacekeeping force that was sent by the East African Grouping IGAD or the Intergovernmental Authority for Development, which replaced an earlier NGO that used to be called IGADD or the Intergovernmental Authority for Droughts and Desertification, which was created in 1986, but which miserably failed to address the original mission of combatting desertification and droughts in the region.
Both IGAD and IGADD consist of Horn African and East African countries. They include the victim, Somalia, which had no say in the matters of the organization, Djibouti its seat, Ethiopia, its major powerhouse, Sudan, a country as messed up as Somalia, Uganda, South Sudan, another conflicted country, Eritrea, and Kenya, still another country, which has deep interests in Somalia.
IGAD was converted to a security institution as it does little or none on development in the region. Its first activity was to send a large contingent of Ethiopian forces, the only contingent of IGADSOM, into Somalia in 2006. This Ethiopian contingent was pushed out by a popular Somali uprising in early 2007. They were replaced by AMISOM or the African Union Mission in Somalia in that same year.
AMISOM was replaced by another African Union mission called the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). These missions all share one common factor – failure in their missions. ATMIS is supposed to leave the country at the end of 2024, but it is now clear that the African Union does not want to or will not leave the country.
It has already created a new mission to start operations in the country on January 1st, 2025. The new mission is to be called the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (Aussom). The African Union must be choking! Why do they want to repeat the same failed efforts of over 17 years?
But perhaps, they did not fail. They are in the country to ensure it does not rise again. As long as they are present in the country, the Somali National Army would never be able to prove itself and its capabilities to maintain the security of the country.
The religious terror groups in the country started just before the arrival of the first mission of IGADSOM. Was that a coincidence? It is a reasonable question posed by reasonable people. If the terror groups are still in the country, what were the African missions doing in Somalia all these past seventeen years? It is again a reasonable question which the African Union should listen to and respond to. Somali leaders and people should question their presence in the country.
There seems to be a connection between the African Union missions and the terror groups in the country. Whenever, the mandate of the African Union missions are about to expire, the religious terror groups increase their terror activities in the country and particularly in the South of the country such as Mogadishu, where recently there was a devastating bombing by the religious terrorists, killing and wounding a large youthful population in a beach hotel in the city.
Immediately after, we now hear that the African Union is to replace its ATMIS mission by a new force – the AUSSOM. This awesome force would certainly not do better than its predecessors, as long some hidden forces want a foreign military presence in the country or as so, it seems.
The Peace and Security Council of the African Union has certainly failed in its mission in Somalia and should be ashamed of continuing to propose a replacement force. When an employee fails to carry out his responsibilities, the employee is usually fired. The employee may cause more damages. The African Union’s so-called Peace and security Council (the AUPSC) has certainly failed in its mission in Somalia and should leave and not be allowed to operate in the country.
Somalis should know that the Africans are not in Somalia to create peace or security in the country but to earn a few dollars from the Europeans and Americans who “indirectly” pay for their services. Is it the Europeans or the Americans who are pushing for their presence in the country? We do not know, but they should be right by Somalis – all these countries, who have been pushing the presence of useless foreign troops in the country.
Türkiye, the United States, and United Kingdom are reported to be the countries that assist in the development of the Somali National Army. They should declare that they failed in their missions to justify the presence of unwanted and unwarranted African forces, mostly from neighboring countries who have interest in the country. It is unfair to Somalia and Somalis, even if the leaders of the country are not up to the job and the responsibilities expected of them.
It is clear that Somalia has been neglected by the international community and its people have not been kinder to each other, either. It is strange that the country is being subjected to the horrors of terrorism managed and financed from beyond Somalia and the senseless Africans all want to make a living on the blood of the poor Somali on the farthest east region of the continent.
History will tell who were involved in the mistreatment of the country and people. But certainly, they do not need the Egyptians who are touted to be part of the new force to come to Somalia or for that matter, any other party, to defend Somalia. Egypt should defend its own people who are being slaughtered next door to their country, instead of coming all the way to Somalia.
Egypt is certainly not interested in the welfare of Somalia but is interested only in the waters of the Nile, which Ethiopia has dammed or perhaps the Bab El Mandab, which is the gateway to the Suez Canal, which is a major source of revenue for the country. They could have done a better job in the early nineties when Somalia needed them. They certainly did not and Somalis do not need them now. They should know, even if the current Somali leadership does not tell them. Somali people do not like Egyptians or what they stand for! They would not help Somalia and would cause it more damage. The coming days would tell.
The African Union or their financing parties, whoever they are, should spend all the money designed to be spent on the so-called Awesome new force in Somalia, on the Somali National Army. They would do a better job than any other party. They know how to defend their country from any party or die in the process.
The UN and the African Union should leave Somalia alone. They have not been good to the country as they have not been good to any other country. They could have done something about Haiti, the DR Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, or Kashmir or the ongoing violence against poor children and women in West Asia, and the many countries in trouble or some kind of turmoil.
It is perhaps time the leadership of Somalia felt for their country and people and said “NO” to foreign forces in the country. But then, it is their responsibility and history will record their actions for posterity.
It is not true that Somalia needs foreign forces to assure itself of peace and stability. It needs a national reconciliation process and have its clans make peace with each other the Somali way, under the Tree, the traditional Somali courthouse, not quite different from a European court which originates from a courtyard, the empty places with no trees in the old days, where they could see each other in forested Europe of old.
National reconciliation among the clans would definitely include depriving the terror groups of clan shelters and their inability to have basis in the various clan lands and regions. There would be no space for them to hoard, hide and collect arms and weapons.
They would not be able to enforce protection monies, they call the Zakawat from anyone, and they would be exposed, wherever they go. The foreign elements in the terror groups who direct operations in the country would have no place to hide and there would no place for masked men and women in the country.
Poor Somalia should not continue to suffer under the yoke of foreign forces and the leadership of the country should have the wisdom and sense, at least, to see the future of the country in a Somali prism and not in others’ prisms, as seems to be the case.
