MOGADISHU, Somalia – Egypt is preparing to deploy its troops to Somalia, one month before the launch of the new African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
Egyptian forces are finalizing training to replace Ethiopian peacekeepers, who lost their position as a troop contributor due to their refusal to revoke a sea access agreement with Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, in exchange for recognition.
Despite being replaced by its regional rival, Ethiopia has expressed a willingness to keep its troops in Somalia under the new mission. However, Somalia has rejected this, insisting that Ethiopian forces withdraw by December 31, the deadline for the transition as ATMIS winds down.
Egyptian Minister of Defense, Abdel Mageed Saqr, along with senior military officials, visited a camp where the new peacekeepers are undergoing their final training before departure.
Minister Saqr explained to them how important their participation is for Egypt’s continued commitment to its leading role at both regional and international levels. He said, “You are all required to come up with efficiency and professionalism as role models for others when you are deployed to Somalia.
Egypt and Djibouti have already pledged troops for the upcoming mission set to begin in January 2025, putting them at the top of the contributor list. Uganda, Kenya, and Burundi are expected to make similar announcements in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday, Ethiopia and Kenya are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to combat Al Shabab through joint security operations, according to Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces.
Jula did not say where the two countries would combat Al-Shabaab, an armed group based in Somalia. Ethiopia is no longer welcomed in Somalia after December 31 when ATMIS ends, due to its maritime deal with Somaliland, which Somalia has termed an infringement on its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Losing its position as a troop contributor is one matter, but Egypt deploying peacekeepers to Somalia raises security concerns for Ethiopia, given its ongoing disputes with Egypt over Nile water. Ethiopia will not be happy with Egyptian forces now positioned near its borders.
In late August, Egypt sent a cargo ship carrying the largest weapons Somalia has ever received in its history, docking to Mogadishu under a deal signed in Cairo by both President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Abdal Fatah Al Sisi. However, Somalia, Egypt, and Eritrea also formed an alliance against Ethiopia.
