MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Ethiopian troops will not be involved in the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), which is set to take over security responsibilities from ATMIS in January, despite a recent agreement between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu to resolve their protracted tensions, Caasimada Online reported on Friday.
For nearly a year, Somali officials have consistently stated that Ethiopian troops would not be included in the new peacekeeping mission unless Addis Ababa rescinds its controversial sea access agreement with Somaliland. However, the Ethiopian government ignored these demands until the majority of troop allocations for the mission had already been assigned to contributing countries, including its regional rival, Egypt.
Although Somalia and Ethiopia have reached an agreement to respect each other’s sovereignty and work towards resolving their year-long rift by granting Ethiopia mutually beneficial commercial port access, Somali officials have stated that this concession will not enable Addis Ababa to retain its participation in the new AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
Donors and international partners have exerted significant pressure on the Somali government to include Ethiopian troops in the new AU peacekeeping force, arguing that the mission cannot effectively combat Al-Shabaab without the involvement of Ethiopian defense forces. However, it remains uncertain whether this external pressure will compel Mogadishu to seek a reconfiguration of troop allocations, which have already been finalized by the African Union.
In a recent statement, Somali State Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Bal’ad said that his government will explore avenues for Ethiopia’s participation in AUSSOM. He noted, however, that the majority of troop allocations have already been finalized, with contributions from countries including Egypt, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, and Djibouti.
Egypt, Ethiopia’s longstanding adversary, is contributing 5,000 peacekeepers to AUSSOM, while also planning to deploy an additional 5,000 troops to Somalia under a bilateral defense agreement with Mogadishu. This has raised concerns over whether forces from two rival nations can effectively operate side by side within a regional peacekeeping mission tasked with restoring stability to a country plagued by more than three decades of conflict.
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