UN extends African Union mission in Somalia

[Deeq A.]

The United Nations Security Council voted Thursday to renew the mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), a peacekeeping force first deployed in the country in 2007.

According to a statement issued by the UK at the United Nations, all UN members unanimously approved extending the mandate of the mission in the country.

“The UN-authorised African Union mission in #Somalia is working to build Somalia’s own capacity for its own peace and development,” it said on Twitter.

AMISOM is a peace support operation with nearly 20,000 forces on the ground mainly from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.

Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone are the six police-contributing countries.

AMISOM has been in Somalia backing the Somali federal government and fighting against the al-Shabaab terrorist group since Jan. 19, 2007.

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