Highlights:
9th November 2015, the Officer in Charge of AMISOM (OIC AMISOM), representing the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Major General Fidza Dludlu welcomed the establishment of the United Nations Support Office for Somalia (UNSOS) in Mogadishu.
UNSOS is set to replace the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA) that has been the legal support of the UN for the peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
Summary:
As of 9th November 2015 the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2245 was adopted in Somalia which saw the replacement of UNSOA with UNSOS that will not only provide support to the AMISOM troops but also to the entire Somali Security Forces at a more basic level.
The OIC AMISOM acknowledged the vitality of the UNSOS establishment in Somalia in the ongoing fight against Al Shabaab citing the presence and support will not cumulatively yield the desired results of routing the militants.
UNSOS mission is geared towards utilization of all the available resources doubled with the added abilities in line with AMISOM mandate of degrading and defeating the militants as well as restoring and maintaining the peace, security and stability in Somalia.
Currently UNSOS supports 22,126 AMISOM personnel and will take up on an initial 10,900 Somali National Army Personnel that are in active duty alongside their allied troops. The UN has been sought to increase its involvement in the war against al Shabaab in Somalia which has divided allegiance between al Qaeda and Islamic State. Government officials have called on more involvement as Somalia cannot afford the possible formation of an Islamic State Caliphate in their country.
