Egypt, alongside Djibouti, has committed troops to contribute to the upcoming African Union Support and Stabilization…
Egypt, alongside Djibouti, has committed troops to contribute to the upcoming African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), which is set to begin in 2025. The Egyptian troops will act as a replacement for Ethiopian troops, which Somalia is threatening to expel. Presently, Ethiopia’s troops are stationed in the country as a part of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
Filling the Gap
AUSSOM is meant to take over from ATMIS in assisting the Somali government in maintaining security in the nation. In the interest of increasing Somalia’s security independence, AUSSOM is supposed to be a smaller deployment than ATMIS.
As a part of ATMIS, Ethiopia has approximately 3,000 troops stationed in Somalia. As Somalia’s neighbor, and a previous target of cross-border attacks by the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab, Ethiopia has held a vested interest in reducing Al-Shabaab’s influence.
However, since January, relations between Ethiopia and Somalia have soured immensely, as Ethiopia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland, an unrecognized but de-facto independent region in the north of Somalia.
The MoU, in short, grants Ethiopia access to the Somaliland port of Berbera and allows them the ability to establish a military and commercial port there, in exchange for an official Ethiopian recognition of Somaliland’s independence.
The terms of the deal have yet to be fulfilled, as Somalia has denounced it as a violation of their sovereignty, and vowed to defend their territory.
While Ethiopia has yet to go through with the deal, they also have yet to back down from it, and so tensions have remained high.
As a part of the tensions, Somalia has threatened to expel Ethiopia’s troops that are stationed in the country by the end of the year. While ATMIS was set to retire anyways, an expulsion means that Ethiopia would not be taking part in the new mission.
The new mission is set to begin in January. There have been questions as to which nations would contribute to the new mission, particularly with the potential expulsion of Ethiopian troops.
The question has, in part, been answered with Egypt and Djibouti offering their own troops in place of Ethiopia’s.
The Egyptian Angle
Egypt appearing willing to take over for Ethiopia is particularly significant, as Egypt has its own gripes with Ethiopia.
In the context of the MoU between Ethiopia and Somaliland, Egypt has offered its explicit support to Somalia, even threatening a potential intervention if Somalia were to call for it.
