MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh to discuss regional matters and strengthen ties between Somalia and Djibouti.
During the meeting, they talked about the new African Union Support and Stabilization Mission (AUSSOM), which will begin this weekend, despite Burundi’s protests over troop allocations.
Djibouti, currently participating in the African Union Transition Mission, set to end Tuesday, is one of the countries contributing troops to the new AUSSOM mission starting soon.
President Mohamud thanked Djibouti for its sacrifices, acknowledging the lives of its soldiers lost in Somalia’s fight to eradicate Al Shabab and restore peace in the Horn of Africa.
President Guelleh confirmed that Djibouti will continue to support Somalia in its fight against Al Shabab, a group with links to Al Qaeda.
“We will continue our efforts to promote peace, security, and stability in Somalia”, he said.
The new mission faces challenges as Somalia excluded Ethiopia and accepted Burundi’s decision on Monday to withdraw from the mission due to insufficient troop numbers.
Burundi said its decision came after Somalia rejected their request to participate with at least 2,000 soldiers, stating that unless there’s a change by December 31st, Burundi would withdraw.
A Burundian diplomat accused Somalia of disrespecting their country by allocating only 1,041 soldiers, which he said could endanger their troops. “We’re not staying to die—we deserve an apology.”
In response, Somalia expressed regret over Burundi’s decision to opt out of AUSSOM, urging Burundi to send a technical team to facilitate the departure and hand over their bases to the Somali Army forces.
Ethiopia, another troop-contributing country, also lost its position in the mission due to violations of Somalia’s sovereignty. With the mission set to begin in two days, Ethiopia’s role remains unclear.
