Kenya and US Discuss Transition of ATMIS to AUSSOM in Somalia

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Cabinet Secretary for Defence, Soipan Tuya, hosted General Michael Langley, the Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), for a meeting today.

Langley was accompanied by Marc Dillard, the Charge d’Affairs at the U.S. Embassy and Acting U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, during their courtesy visit to the Defence Headquarters.

“Our discussions focused on enhancing our defence cooperation, regional security, and ensuring a smooth transition from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) to the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM),” Tuya said.

She added, “We also took the opportunity to reaffirm our shared commitment to the Kenya-USA strategic partnership, under the framework of the annual Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD) and the biennial Bilateral Defence Forum (BDF).”

In April 2022, AMISOM was restructured into ATMIS.

Given Somalia’s ongoing security challenges, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) requested a follow-up mission to replace ATMIS.

In August, the African Union Peace and Security Council approved the creation of a new AU-led and UN-authorized mission, AUSSOM, and forwarded the mission’s operational plan to the UN Security Council.

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