US gives UN another year to wind down Somalia peacekeeping support

The United States has agreed to give the United Nations another year to wind down its support for African peacekeepers in Somalia, according to a diplomatic document seen by Reuters, providing some additional time for a force facing the prospect of faster cuts while leaving its long-term future uncertain.

Reuters reported in July that Washington, increasingly frustrated with Somalia’s fragile administration, had said it would block continued UN support for the African Union force that supports the government and helps it combat al Qaeda-linked militants.

Analysts have warned that any weakening of the African Union peacekeeping presence could severely undermine the Somali government and further fuel political turmoil in the volatile region bordering the Red Sea.

The peacekeepers, known as the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), rely heavily on UN assistance for essential logistical support, including food, water, fuel, medical services and troop transportation.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, which has scaled back a number of international commitments, told the African Union in a diplomatic note in July that Washington would use its influence to prevent the UN from supporting the peacekeepers from the beginning of next year.

However, in another diplomatic note seen by Reuters and circulated among embassies last week, Washington said “the United States is willing to support a 12-month drawdown followed immediately by liquidation” of the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS).

Without the additional 12-month period, funding could have ended in December, when the mandate of UNSOS expires. Two diplomatic sources and a Somali government source said the new 12-month countdown would begin in January.

A US State Department spokesperson told Reuters that Washington would no longer fund or support the UN office in Somalia, which has a total budget of around $500 million.

“We would expect any drawdown processes and timelines to be discussed during UN Security Council deliberations in December,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Five diplomatic sources and the Somali government source, all speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the 12-month deadline.

Somalia’s Defence Ministry, UNSOS and the African Union Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Funding gaps

The additional time will give Somalia and its partners more opportunity to seek alternative sources of funding, but it does not remove the threat to the peacekeeping mission’s future.

“AUSSOM is a key pillar of Somalia's state,” said Afyare Elmi, a professor at the City University of Mogadishu. “Without it, the country would face a real risk of state fragmentation and disintegration.”

Samira Gaid, a regional security analyst, told Reuters that the closure of UNSOS could ultimately spell the end of AUSSOM.

“The AU either (needs) to find alternative logistics arrangements or to draw down and exit,” she said.

Funding for the African Union mission has become increasingly precarious, resulting in a major shortfall. Washington last year blocked a proposal to move to a financing model under which UN funds would have covered three-quarters of the mission’s annual budget of $190 million.

Somalia has been plagued by instability and internal conflict since the fall of authoritarian ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Islamist militants have since strengthened their control over large parts of the countryside and, two decades ago, seized the capital before being driven out by a joint Ethiopian and Somali government force.

By Tamilla Hasanova