African Union call for UN support

After trying all other routes, African Union finally asks for UN backing for Somalia issues

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 07:55 am

The political situation in Somalia has been degrading since the country let in foreign involvement in internal matters and gave up its military power in search for regional control.

Now as the things are reaching the edge of the cliff, the African Union has finally given up on making any improvements alone and seeks involvement of the United Nations in the country. The African Union members on Saturday urged the UN to interfere with the peacekeeping efforts in Somalia.

Somalia is under threat of insurgency especially after Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. The leaders are worried about an al-Qaeda affiliate, which has alleged a hand in supporting the Taliban in conducting the whole takeover.

The African Union is not new to interference with Somalia and its issues. It has been part of the nation since 2007 and is somehow helping fight the continuous efforts of insurgents, known as al-Shabab. Since a decade, the Union has been hoping for the Somali military to take over but that has not been possible.

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Al-Shabab has continued to carry out suicide bombings and other attacks despite continuous attacks by the United States. The US forces have been carrying out the drone strikes on the terror group, but it has not fetched the desired results nor has it shooed away them from further entering the region.

One of the officials from the African Union said, “We are calling on the UN, we are calling on all partners to continue to support Somalia knowing full well that we should not be thinking of the Afghanistan scenario on our continent.”

Bankole Adeoye, the continental body’s commissioner for political affairs and peace and safety measures also added that Amisom has nearly 20,000 troops in Somalia and they require funding to extend the mandate for the whole year. The AU wants this to be extended till 2027 and if the UN interferes, there will be additional backing to the governing body.