Somali government rejects African Union plan for joint UN mission
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The Somali government has reiterated its opposition to the AMISOM mission being transformed into a joint peacekeeping operation by the African Union and the United Nations.
A statement from the Somali Ministry of Defense through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Somali government strongly opposes the proposed African Union and United Nations joint operation.
Yesterday the African Union Peace and Security Council said it supported the plan for a joint operation.
The plan was initially proposed by an African Union assessment mission in Somalia.
The Somali government had previously rejected the plan in July this year.
The plan, if implemented, will have to be approved by the UN Security Council and by the Somali government.
The date the operation is scheduled to begin is January 2022.
The African Union has said it wants the operation to be carried out in accordance with Article VII (7) of the UN Charter.
The organization also wants to expand the number of countries contributing troops to AMISOM, which currently stands at five; Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Djibouti, which have 19,000 in Somalia.
The Somali government wants the AMISOM mission to move from AMISOM to a gradual handover of security responsibility to the Somali army.
