Africa Up Close

For the last year, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Somalia National Army (SNA) and allied forces were unable to expand their territorial control due to logistical and personnel deficit, and military stalemate[i]. Despite the presence of these forces, the Al-Qaeda affiliated Islamist group Al-Shaba’ab still controls a significant part of south central Somalia. AMISOM repeatedly reported its lack of capabilities[ii] with regard to helicopters, uniformed personnel and other logistics[iii]. In response to these requests, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed Resolution 2124/2013 on November 12, 2013 to increase the uniformed personnel from 17,731 to a maximum of 22,126, as well as to expand the logistical support package for AMISOM with an extension for two years as part of exit strategy from a request of the African Union Peace and Security Council. Subsequent to the UNSC resolution and request from the SFG, the Ethiopian government has decided to join AMISOM.  This paper discusses whether the addition of Ethiopian troops to AMISOM has any implication on the security of Somalia and AMISOM capabilities.

As we enter a new year in just a week, I would like to take this last post of 2013 and reflect on what has been a year of growth for our program blog, Africa Up Close. Now just over a year old, Africa Up Close, has become a major source of information for the policy community, academia, and those who follow Africa here in the U.S.  Here are some of our statistics. From a start up in September 2012, this blog now has a major following, with a total of 9,300 visitors from July 1-December 1 alone, of which 40% are returning visitors and 60% are new visitors.  The average visitor looks at a minimum of two pages per visit. We have therefore had almost 20,000 page views in that time frame.   As would be expected, our viewers are overwhelmingly from the U.S. mainly Washington, DC and New York, followed by the UK, Kenya and South Africa.

The integration of the Somali armed forces is a critical component to state-building in Somalia. For an effective and credible national army to be fully realized, integration must go beyond simply bringing the forces together under the de facto control of the central government and must aim to be representative, cohesive and professional. Representation in the national army and police of Somali clans who have a history of fighting each other for the purpose of protecting their own clan or religion is also insufficient. Without simultaneously strengthening cohesion and competencies, the efforts for establishing a legitimate and credible army by the people of Somalia may impede on the complex state-building process. These factors necessitate a deep understanding of the reasons for fragmentation and collapse of the former Somali National Security Forces so as to address the underlying causes.

Continue reading for some of the events this week in D.C. concerning Africa.

With the completion of the Transitional Federal Government’s (TFG) term on August 20, 2012, the Somalia Federal Government (SFG) was established on the basis of the enacted Provisional Constitution. The new Lower House of the parliament, whose members are nominated by their clan leaders, elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as its President. The SFG has also announced the end of the transition and the establishment of a new government in a democratic manner. The international community, including the United States and European Union, has recognized it as the first representative government of the Somali people since the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991.