New York, (Halbeeg News) – Somalia’s Deputy UN Envoy Mohamed Yusuf has said Somalia will no longer need the services of Ethiopian troops come January when the new African Union Mission begin operations in the country.
Addressing the Council Friday night the country’s representative at the UN said Somalia now has the requisite troop numbers through bilateral agreements with troop contributing countries for the mission, ending the prospects of Addis Ababa maintaining troops in Somali soil.
“Regional partners from troop-contributing countries have shown remarkable solidarity, pledging to maintain our necessary force of 11,000 troops,” Yusuf said, adding, “This commitment addresses any security vacuum created by Ethiopia while sustaining progress in the fight against Al-Shabaab in the country.”
Yusuf further stated that relations between Somalia and Ethiopia had soured in the last 11 months, hence it is no longer tenable for Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) to serve in the new African Union Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
Consequently, Ethiopia will be forced to pull out its troops from Somalia, however, it remains to be seen what arrangements will be put in place to ensure a seamless transition in light of the threat from Al-Shabaab taking over territories vacated by Ethiopia.
Ethiopian troops serving under ATMIS operates in Sector 3, which covers parts of Gedo region in Jubaland and Bay and Bakool regions in South West state.
Last week an incident in Dolow area of Gedo region changed the course of the warming relations between the two countries which had seemingly improved after mediation talks in Ankara, led by Turkish president Recep Erdogan.
Somalia accused ENDF forces of attacking three key bases manned by the Somali National Army, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), and the Somali Police Force,” resulting in “casualties, including fatalities and injuries,” among Somali forces at these locations.
Mogadishu noted the incident amounted a to a “blatant violation of the Ankara Declaration, the principles and Constitutive Act of the African Union, the Charter of the United Nations, and the norms of good neighbourly relations.”
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