AMISOM in Somalia

Somalia is consistently ranked the #1 failed state in the world by Foreign Policy and most news reporters label it the most dangerous place in the world (not to mention K'naan loves to rap about how Mogadishu is ueber-gangster). Without going into the history of Somalia's ongoing civil strife, warlordism, and terrorism, this is what is happening currently in a nut shell: The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is a force comprised of around 7-8,000 troops (any news paper article will have a different number of troops and the AMISOM's two websites do not list the exact figure) from Uganda and Burundi that are mandated to protect the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed as well as the Somali population around the capital city Mogadishu. For the most part, AMISOM is fighting the extremist group based on Islam, Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen (better known as al Shabaab or 'the youth'). But AMISOM also fights Hizbul-Islam, another insurgent group that may come into cahoots with al Shabaab. The main problem with AMISOM is that this military is only making minimal progress against al Shabaab and only controls a few blocks around the capital, mainly where the government buildings and airport are located. Though, at times, this minimal progress concerns al Shabaab, who are now paying foreign recruits $250 a month, $50 more than domestic recruits, to fight with Shabaab against AMISOM.

From reports and interviews given by AMISOM commanders, this military is underfunded, undermanned, and under-supplied. Undermanned is the most accurate complaint as it has taken 3 years from AMISOM's inception in 2007 to finally accumulate a number of troops close to the 8,000 that is was originally mandated. This past summer, Uganda has called for supplying up to 20,000 soldiers altogether, but that it and Burundi cannot be the only countries to supply these troops. Actually Uganda said that if the US will support them, they will ready themselves to send another 10,000 troops to Somalia. The US, through Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, have remained ambiguous about the US contributing directly to this 10K increment, but still insist that the US will keep supporting AMISOM and the TFG financially and diplomatically. (As a side note, the US does not want to get involved with Somalia because it cannot handle spreading its troops even wider across the world. Additionally there are 2 other wars the US needs to focus on). The total money spent on AMISOM between America and the European Union is between $400-500 million. I am not a military financial expert, but with this type of money received for the past 3 years, it would seem that more progress would have been made in Somalia. But alas, money does not equal the will to fight, and fight effectively.

AMISOM is directly concerned with "peace" on the ground in Mogadishu, but has played a minor role in fighting piracy in conjunction with the EU's Operation Atalanta. There boats aren't the greatest ships out there, basically a narrow boat that can carry approximately 6 men with a motor on one side and a machine gun on the other. But at least there is a presence, albeit small, and Ugandans are training the Somali military with this equipment, in this regard. In fact, AMISOM is training the newly developed Somali army and police forces in Mogadishu. With the help of France, Italy, Dyncorp, and Burundi, training military training is taking place for Somali security forces. News articles and interviews suggest that it will be years before the Somali military can successfully take over the AMISOM mandate. There are other accounts of Shabaab infiltrations, desertions, and death threats. It remains to be seen how things will play out for AMISOM in Somalia, as well as the Somali security forces, but it does not look as hopeful as all thought it would be when AMISOM was first commissioned in 2007.