The United Nations Security Council is set to convene for a vote on a new mission to replace the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). According to the Council’s temporary rules of procedure, representatives from Ethiopia and Somalia are expected to participate in the meeting.

In August of last year, the ATMIS mission was extended until December 31, 2024. A draft resolution, drafted by the United Kingdom, backs the decision made by the African Union Peace and Security Council to swap ATMIS with the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).

The draft resolution also grants authorization for African Union members to undertake all necessary measures for a period spanning 12 months. It enables African Union member states to deploy up to 12,000 uniformed security personnel, which includes 1,040 police officers, until the conclusion of June.

Additionally, it stipulates that by this specified date, the integration of all African Union troops from ATMIS into the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia should be finalized. It’s worth noting that the Peace and Security Council of the African Union has deployed a peacekeeping force comprising troops from various nations to remain in Somalia for six months.

However, despite the peacekeeping force being deployed for six months, it has been in Somalia for nearly two decades. The mission, formerly known as AMISOM, changed its name to ATMIS two years ago. This mission is set to expire in a few days.

Ethiopia has been contributing its army to the peacekeeping force under the African Union for seventeen years, ever since the transitional government of Somalia requested its assistance. Ethiopia has deployed approximately 3,000 soldiers under ATMIS and up to 7,000 soldiers under a bilateral agreement with Somalia.

Somalia’s National Security Adviser, Hussain Ali, previously warned that if Ethiopia does not cancel its agreement with Somaliland before the end of June, all Ethiopian troops stationed under ATMIS, and the bilateral accord will be withdrawn from the country.

The signing of a memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland, a self-declared independent nation not recognized internationally, to secure a 20-kilometer coastline, has stirred up tensions with Somalia.

In response, Somalia’s defense minister has officially announced the expulsion of the Ethiopian army from the new African Union Support and Stabilization Mission.

The Somali government has consistently expressed its desire for the Ethiopian army, which has been contributing to peacekeeping efforts in Somalia for more than fifteen years, to leave the country. While, after negotiations, leaders from Ethiopia and Somalia signed an agreement to resolve their disputes through discussions facilitated by the Turkish president in Ankara.

According to the Ankara Agreement signed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed, Somalia acknowledges the sacrifice of Ethiopian soldiers deployed in the country under the African Union mission.