BAIDOA– The Special Representative for the Chairperson of the African Union (SRCC) and Head of ATMIS, Amb. Souef Mohamed Elamine and the Head of UNSOS, Ms. Aisa Kacyira have on Tuesday conducted a joint working visit to Baidoa town.
They were accompanied by the Joint Technical Assessment Team for the Phase One drawdown of ATMIS led by the Acting Head of Peace Support Operations Division (PSOD) Zinurine Alghali.
The high level officials held series of meetings with South West State officials, ATMIS ENDF officers led by the ATMIS Sector 3 Commander, Brig. Gen. Besfat Fente, and senior Somali Security Forces officials.
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They discussed a raft of topics including the Joint Operations Centre (JOC), Phase One drawdown of ATMIS and the ongoing consultations for the Phase Two drawdown of 3000 troops by the end of September 2023.
The decentralisation of UNSOS services to effectively support both ATMIS and Somali Security Forces also featured in the discussions.
The officials later participated in a tree-planting exercise at the UN compound in Baidoa.
The high profile delegation also included the ATMIS Deputy Force Commander in charge of Support and Logistics, Maj. Gen. Peter Muteti and senior officials drawn from ATMIS and UNSOS.
The African Union Peace Mission troops are set to completely withdraw from Somalia by December 2024 in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution.
Somali government forces are expected to officially to take over security responsibilities from the peace keeper troops.