By Maher Ahmed - Reporter
Somalia, July 31 2026 - Leaders of countries contributing troops to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) on Friday endorsed an 18-24 month transition plan aimed at transferring security responsibilities to Somali forces, while urging the international community to provide predictable financing to support the mission.
The commitment was outlined in a communiqué issued after an extraordinary summit in Kampala attended by leaders and senior officials from AUSSOM troop-contributing countries and the Federal Government of Somalia.
The communiqué stressed the need for "an orderly, coordinated and phased exit of AUSSOM" and called for a United Nations Security Council-mandated support mechanism to continue providing uninterrupted assistance to the mission for 18 to 24 months.
Leaders said the additional period would allow Somalia to implement agreed security benchmarks, strengthen the capacity of its national security institutions and facilitate an orderly transfer of responsibilities from AUSSOM to Somali security forces.
The summit also acknowledged the financial challenges facing the mission, directing the foreign ministers of troop-contributing countries to work with Somalia and the African Union to establish a joint task force to mobilise predictable and sustainable financing.
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The communiqué called for intensified diplomatic engagement with international partners, including the organisation of a donors' conference, to address what it described as the mission's current funding shortfalls.
On the security front, leaders endorsed Somalia's continued recruitment of Community and Local Defence Forces to hold and secure areas recaptured from Al-Shabaab, while highlighting the need to expand the Somali National Armed Forces' air capabilities and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud attended the summit, hosted by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala.
AUSSOM, which replaced the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in January 2025, supports Somali forces in combating Al-Shabaab while assisting the country's gradual transition toward full responsibility for its own security.