UN Security Council extends AU mission in Somalia

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 31– The UN Security Council on Wednesday
unanimously adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the African Union
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) until May 31, 2018 and authorized a downsizing
of troops.

The council decided to reduce the level of uniformed personnel to a maximum
of 21,626 by the end of this year, with a further reduction of uniformed
personnel to 20,626 by Oct. 30, 2018, unless the Security Council decides
to accelerate the pace of the reduction. The current maximum deployment
level is 22,126 uniformed personnel, as set out in Resolution 2355. “The
long-term objective for Somalia, with the support of its international
partners, is that Somali security forces assume full responsibility for
Somalia’s security,” said the newly adopted resolution.It noted that AMISOM
remains critical to security during this transition. One of the strategic
objectives of AMISOM is to enable the gradual handing over of security
responsibilities from AMISOM to the Somali security forces contingent on
abilities of the Somali security forces and political and security progress
in Somalia, said the resolution. – XINHUA