MOGADISHU-The African Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) has winded up its first phase of troops withdrawal with the handover of six Forward Operating Bases in Hirshabelle, Jubbaland, South West States and in the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu.
The Peace Keeping forces on Thursday handed over Gerile Forward Operating Base in Jubbaland State which was under the responsibility of the Kenya Defence Forces adding the number of bases relinquished to the Somali security forces to six.
According to ATMIS, the mission on Tuesday handed over two operating bases- Cadale in Hirshabelle State which was occupied by the Burundi National Defence Forces (BNDF) and Albao in Southwest regional State, which was under the responsibility of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
#ATMIS today concluded the first phase of troop withdrawal with the handover of #Mogadishu’s Aljazeera One Training Forward Operating Base (FOB) and #Jubaland State’s Gherille FOB to the Somali Security Forces (SSF). The former, manned by @UPDF_, was handed over to the #SSF by… pic.twitter.com/PS81ikZS5W
— ATMIS (@ATMIS_Somalia) June 29, 2023
In Cadale town, the ATMIS commander handed over the base to Somali National Army brigade under the command ship of Saney Abdulle in an event graced by senior military and civilian officials drawn from both sides while at the Albao Operating Base the ATMIS commander of the FOB, Lt. Col. Steven Kashagama, handed over to the SNA, Capt. Mohamed Somali.
The other Bases handed over to Somali National Army include Haji Ali, Miirtaqwo, Arbacow and Marka Ayub which was closed down.
The Peace Keeping Mission is set to hand over Aljazeera 1 in the coming days.
ATMIS is withdrawing its 2,000 troops by the end of June 2023 in line with the UN Security Council Resolutions 2628(22) and 2670(22) which stipulates the gradual withdrawal of ATMIS forces from the Horn of Africa Nation and hand over of security responsibilities to the Somali National Army.
