Friday, January 09, 2015
African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Ismail Chergui met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mogadishu on Wednesday (January 7th) to discuss joint efforts to defeat al-Shabaab in Somalia.
"We spoke about African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) support to the Somali government, especially on security and the fight against the enemy," Mohamud said after the meeting according to an AMISOM statement.
A large delegation from AMISOM attended the meeting to discuss strategies such as preparing the Somali forces to eventually take over from AMISOM, he said.
"We are very proud of what we have seen in terms of prevailing peace and security and they are signs of the country returning back to normalcy," Chergui said. "We are proud of that and this is attributed to the efforts of Somali forces and African Union forces. We will continue working hand-in-hand until we achieve the wanted goals."
Chergui also toured the site of a December 25th al-Shabaab attack on AMISOM's Halane military base in Mogadishu, and offered his condolences for the four people killed.
Mohamud welcomed the formation of a joint task force comprising the Somali government, AMISOM and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) to investigate the attack, and said the government would implement the task force's recommendations as a matter of urgency.
"Together the federal government of Somalia and the African Union, the Somali National Army and AMISOM are winning the war against al-Shabaab; but the continuing battle is to win the peace," he said in a press statement.
Meanwhile, at a joint a press conference in Addis Ababa, AU Special Representative to Somalia and head of AMISOM Ambassador Maman Sidikou addressed the security situation in Somalia.
He said al-Shabaab has lost control of more than 80% of the areas it held through joint military operations conducted by Somali forces and AMISOM troops, Somalia's Goobjoog News reported.