NAIROBI – Kenya’s President William Ruto has asked the international community to keep supporting Somalia’s peace process.
Through a statement on Wednesday, President Ruto said the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia is at a critical stage and requires a coherent approach to realise the much-needed peace and stability in Somalia.
“We implore the international community, through regional and international bodies, to keep offering requisite support towards the ongoing peace building efforts,”Ruto said when he held talks with AU Commission Special Representative for Somalia Ambassador Mohamed El-Amine Souef at State House, Nairobi.
ATMIS is an active African Union transition and drawdown mission from peacekeeping operations in Somalia thus succeeded the African Union Mission to Somalia.
With ATMIS’s mandate ending in 2024, with full transition of security operations to the Somali National Armed Forces, there are concerns of Somalia’s capacity to fight Al Shabaab.
The terror group has intensified terror attacks in Somalia in the recent past. For instance, nine people were reported killed in twin car bombings in central Somalia earlier this month. This followed an attack on a Mogadishu hotel in November and another in August last year.
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has also sought international support to fight against terrorism.
In his address to the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly, President Hassan called for multilateral efforts in the war on terrorism, saying, “We must work together collaboratively as a community of nations to confront our common obstacles, including the fight against terrorism”
“The most important lesson we have learnt in the long modern war against international terrorists and terrorism is that neither can be contained or degraded: they need to be comprehensively defeated. We must continue to stand up to them with all our collective strength,” he said.
The President warned world leaders about terror, saying the globe is becoming less secure through recurring conflicts, increasing international terrorism and the destructive impact of climate change.
“I cannot prioritize between these three interlocking challenges because they are equally as dangerous and directly hamper any progress,” Hassan observed.
Somalia President seeks international support to fight Al Shabaab, leverages media
