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Africa

Africa: Floods Derail AU Mission Exit Plan in Somalia

todayFebruary 5, 2024 3

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Mogadishu, Somalia — The rotation of the African Union force in Somalia was delayed by at least one month due to floods, as troops remained marooned in military bases that they were meant to leave more than four weeks ago after El Niño-induced rains submerged roads, and airstrips and cut off major supply routes of the Horn of Africa country, The EastAfrican has learned.

The Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) expected to receive their forces rotating from the mission at the end of December 2023 alongside soldiers that were in phase two of the drawdown of 3,000 troops.

But logistical issues forced the troops to remain on the ground – extending their stay in Somalia by another month – while TCCs could not deploy new units to the mission.

“There were some delays in meeting the December 31, 2023 timeline, primarily due to the floods caused by El-Nino rains,” says Gifty Bingley, Atmis spokesperson.

“As of January 25, 2024, Phase Two is complete, with seven Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) successfully handed over and two collapsed.”

“The successful completion of this drawdown phase, notwithstanding significant challenges, including the El Nino, is a testament to the will of the Federal Government of Somalia to an orderly transition,” said Dr Alhadji Sarjoh Bah, Director of the Conflict Management Directorate at AU, at the FOBs handover ceremony in Mogadishu on January 29.

While the floods caused an operational headache for the peacekeepers, the tripartite partners — Atmis, the Federal Government of Somalia and the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) — also turned to battling a floods-induced humanitarian crisis impacting the locals while working to meet the transition timelines.

Michael Dorn, the UNSOS deputy chief of service delivery, said that the floods hit Sectors 3, 4 and 5 of Atmis – areas under the control of Ethiopian, Djiboutian and Burundi contingents respectively, affecting 1.17 million and displacing 334,800 people, as of last week.

This made an already stretched military operation against Al Shabaab due to fewer numbers of Atmis troops, more complex as forces now have to support humanitarian operations in the Horn of Africa country, in places like Baidoa, Belet Weyne, Johwar, parts of Kismayo and northeast areas.

Moreover, throughout most of the month of December, support operations could not deliver crucial supplies to Atmis forces, whose FOBs were rendered become hard to reach by the floods, leaving troops insecure and also facing acute shortages, Dorn said.

In UNSOS assessment, the drawdown of Atmis is limiting field missions and hampering the food security cluster partners in the ongoing flood response, for example in Kismayu.

Due to insecurity and high access constraints, the UN support mission says there is limited information on some of the isolated evacuation camps in West Belet Weyne area of Farmajibaley, making it difficult to either provide assistance or estimate the existing needs.