EU APPROVES 116.9 MILLION DOLLARS AS PART OF A SECURITY BOOSTING EFFORT IN SOMALIA

Fri 19 April 2024:

The European Union (EU) said it has approved 116.9 million U.S. dollars for stabilization efforts in Somalia.

The funds, approved by the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the EU on Tuesday, will support the transition process for the Somali National Army (SNA) and for the military component of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), the EU said.

The EU said it will add 74.4 million dollars to the resources already mobilized for ATMIS in previous years and 42.5 million dollars for the SNA.

“Both actions aim at contributing to the handover of security responsibilities from ATMIS to the SNA by allowing the former to fulfill its mandate while strengthening the capacities of the latter,” the EU said in a statement issued Tuesday evening.

In 2023, ATMIS started withdrawing its troops from Somalia in compliance with a United Nations Security Council resolution last year.

ATMIS has completed the first and second phases of its drawdown of 5,000 troops and handed over 13 military bases to Somali security forces.

An additional 4,000 troops are expected to be pulled out by the end of June.

The agreed support will mostly contribute to the ATMIS troop allowances while for the SNA, it will focus on the provision of non-lethal equipment, the EU said.

The EU has been the largest direct contributor to ATMIS with nearly 2.87 billion dollars since 2007.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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