Somalia is requesting that the withdrawal of African Union peacekeeping forces in the country be postponed.
The country has asked the UN to postpone the next phase of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) troops’ departure by three months.
In a letter to the UN, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, Somalia’s national security adviser, “Somalia formally requests a technical pause in the drawdown of the 3,000 ATMIS uniformed personnel by three months,” according to AFP news agency.
Of the 17,000-person force, 3,000 soldiers were expected to depart by the end of the month as part of the second phase of the withdrawal.
However, the Somali government, which is presently waging war against al-Shabab militants, says it is encountering “significant setbacks”.
UN resolutions have called for the complete withdrawal of the ATMIS force by the end of the following year and the full transfer of security maintenance duties to Somali national forces.
In June, the force began the gradual withdrawal of its forces.
Source-BBC
