AU Keen On Resolving Logistical Challenges Facing Its Mission in Somalia

[Deeq A.]

A delegation from the Addis Ababa based African Union Peace Support Operations Division (AUPSOD), is in Somalia to assess the nature of logistical support given to the AU Mission by its partners.

The team will hold deliberations in the capital Mogadishu, to flesh out issues regarding logistics support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and propose recommendations, that will boost the Mission’s activities in the Horn of Africa country.

“We want to look into key challenges and key issues and clearly indicate what stakeholders need to do to help enhance the support package to AMISOM,” Col. (Rtd) Mor Mbow, the Chief of Mission Support at the African Union Commission, and leader of the AU delegation said in his opening remarks earlier today.

Mbor emphasized that the aim of the deliberations was to come up with ways of enhancing logistical support to AMISOM, to enable the Mission better secure Somalia.

“This support to AMISOM is not only an UNSOS responsibility. Troop Contributing Countries have responsibilities; the contingents that have been deployed have responsibilities. AU as strategic headquarters have responsibilities and UN of course, being a major partner has responsibilities,” Col. Mbow stated.

The two-day high-level consultative talks is expected to come up with detailed recommendations that will address critical logistical support issues in the short, medium and long term.

“The primary objective of this workshop is to identify AMISOM mission support challenges across the strategic, operational and tactical levels,” explained Ambassador Francisco Caetano Jose Madeira, the AU Special Representative for Somalia and Head of AMISOM.

The meeting, Madeira noted, will also come up with recommendations on how the AU and UN can harmonize and enhance joint planning, improve on provision and delivery of logistics and generate service support to AMISOM.

In her remarks, the Head of UNSOS, Ms. Lisa Filipetto reiterated UNSOS’ commitment to providing the required logistical support, to enable AMISOM fulfil its mandate effectively. UNSOS is mandated by the UN Security Council to provide logistical support to AMISOM and to the Somali security forces during joint operations with AMISOM.

“UNSOS welcomes this review. We believe that this is such an important partnership that we need to get it right. We won’t get it perfect but continuous improvement is always very important,” she observed, while acknowledging the achievements AMISOM has made in Somalia’s stabilization.

Representatives of Troop and Police Contributing Countries to AMISOM, senior AMISOM and UN officials, among them, the AMISOM Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Jim Beesigye Owoyesigire and the Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, Christine Alalo, are attending the consultative meeting.

Source: AMISOM