The African Union says it will extend and expand its military operations against Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists in Somalia to include other member states, as its current mandate nears an end on December 31.
According to African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Sunday, the AU’s Peace and Security Council had agreed to shift to a joint mission with the UN that would enable “other willing and interested AU Member States” to join operations against the Islamists.
The plan will need to be endorsed by the UN Security Council and the government in Mogadishu.
The AU expressed “grave concern at the worsening security situation in Somalia,” where there had been a “worrying resurgence” of Al-Shabaab activities.
Sunday’s AU statement asked the UN Security Council “to consider a technical roll-over of the AMISOM mandate, while discussions continue on the details and modalities for transition towards the post-2021 arrangement.”
The statement also urged President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, widely known as Farmajo, and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble to resolve their differences and “re-focus on concluding the overdue elections without further delay”.