Defence Ministers Push Long-Term Funding Plan for Somalia Mission

What the report says

Nile Post reports that defence ministers from troop-contributing countries to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) have backed recommendations prepared by military chiefs on the mission’s next phase. The discussions bring together Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya and Somalia, and focus on how the African-led operation can continue once the current United Nations support arrangement is due to end on December 31, 2026.

According to the report, the Chiefs of Defence Forces completed a strategic document on Wednesday, setting out proposals on funding, logistics and operational support. The defence ministers are reviewing it before it is forwarded to regional Heads of State at an Extraordinary Summit expected on Friday. African Union Commission official Zinene Chiradza said the report gives leaders a technical basis for decisions, while warning that the mission’s main support line could be uncertain from January 2027.

Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who chaired the military chiefs’ meeting, urged troop-contributing states to prepare alternative support mechanisms. Uganda’s Defence and Veteran Affairs Minister Jacob Oboth Oboth Kiryowa Kiwanuka also reaffirmed Kampala’s commitment, noting Uganda’s early role in the AU deployment to Somalia in 2007.

The issue matters because AUSSOM follows earlier AU missions, including AMISOM and ATMIS, and is intended to support Somalia while more security responsibility shifts to Somali forces. Nile Post reports that ministers warned against leaving gaps that armed groups such as al-Shabaab could exploit, while also emphasizing the need for stronger Somali security institutions and predictable long-term financing.