The drawdown of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) forces from Somalia has officially started.
ATMIS is scheduled to reduce its forces in Somalia by as much as 2,000 by June 30, 2023.
The remainder should leave the East African nation by December 31, 2023.
The exercise was launched on Wednesday when ATMIS handed over its first Forward Operating Base (FOB) to Somalia.
It handed over control of the Xaaji Cali to Somali National Army (SNA) troops.
The drawdown takes place in adherence to a couple of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR); that is, UNSCR 2628(22) and UNSCR 2670(22).
ATMIS handed over the FOB in HirShabelle to SNA with the assistance of the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOM).
The Xaaji Cali FOB had been under the control of the Burundi National Defense Forces (BNDF).