The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hamza Adan Haadoow, met on Wednesday in Addis Ababa with Dr. Sarjoh Bah, Director of Conflict Management Directorate (CMD) at the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) of the African Union Commission, and discussed with him a plan to reduce the number of ATMIS forces according to a previous agreement and fully implement the Somali Transition Plan (STP). The meeting’s main discussions focused on the significance of withdrawing 2,000 ATMIS forces by June 30, 2023, as well as the date of the evaluation that would require the drawdown of a further 3,000 ATMIS troops in September 2023. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) started conducting peacekeeping operations in Somalia in March 2007. On April 1, 2022, the mission changed its name and mandate to African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), clarifying its goals and gradually reducing the number of its forces as a pre-agreed withdrawal.

Source: Somali National News Agency