African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has reaffirmed plans to withdraw its troops from Somalia as earlier scheduled.
Col. Charles Okongo Ambiakha, AMISOM’s spokesperson, said this during a media interview with The East African newspaper.
Ambiakha stated that they would only withdraw their troops according to the reasonable timeframe defined under the Somali Transitional Plan (STP).
Furthermore, in his interview, Col. Ambiakha said that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has to provide guidance on troops’ withdrawal.
UNSC has to work closely with the African Union Peace and Security Council to provide the troops with the guideline for leaving the East African nation.
“As we wait for all that, we remain committed to handing over security responsibilities to the security forces in Somalia by December 2021,” Col. Ambiakha stated.
AMISOM has over 22,000 troops from different nations providing peacekeeping services while training security forces in Somalia.