The Somali Ambassador to Cairo, Ali Abdi Aware, announced today, Wednesday, the start of the arrival of Egyptian military equipment and delegations to the capital, Mogadishu.
The newspaper said:Somalia Al-Jadeed (special) reported yesterday, Tuesday, that “two Egyptian military planes arrived, on Tuesday, at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, carrying military equipment and officers.”
Awari said – in a statement carried by Egyptian media, including the official Al-Gomhuria newspaper – that he appreciates “the beginning of the arrival of Egyptian military equipment and delegations to the Somali capital, Mogadishu.”
He explained that this step represents “a prelude to Egypt’s participation in the African Union peacekeeping forces in Somalia (AMISOM), which is scheduled to replace the current African Union Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) by January 2025.”
The Somali ambassador described this step as important and considered it “the first practical step to implement the outcomes of the Egyptian-Somali summit held in Cairo (on August 14) between the Egyptian and Somali presidents.” Abdel Fattah el-Sisi And the Somali Hassan Sheikh MahmoudAnd witnessed the signing of a joint defense agreement between the two countries.
He stressed that “Egypt will thus be the first country to deploy forces to support the Somali army, after the withdrawal of the current African Union forces.”
Cairo has not commented on the news yet, but the Egyptian president said in a press conference in Cairo with his Somali counterpart on August 14 that his country “will apply to participate in the peacekeeping mission in Somalia this year.”
“It is up to the host country (Somalia), and if it wants us to be there, we will be there,” he added, according to the Egyptian News Agency.
At that time, the Somali ambassador welcomed this offer, saying, “We are grateful for Egypt’s pledge to be among the first countries to deploy forces to support the Somali army after the withdrawal of the current African Union forces.”
He stressed that “the joint defense agreement signed between the two countries will prevent a security vacuum in Somalia, and will include training, equipment support, and joint operations between the two countries’ forces.”
It is noteworthy that the Somali government has been waging a war against “Al-Shabaab Mujahideen MovementThe armed group, which was founded in early 2004 and is affiliated with Al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for bombings that have killed civilians and members of the army and police.
Government forces, with regional and international support, were able to expel Al-Shabaab from major cities between 2011 and 2012, but it is still spread across large rural areas of the country located in the region. Horn of Africa.
