NR No: 20230602/03 Date: 05 JUNE 2023

SHOTLIST: ATMIS-FGS delegation briefs EU officials on Somalia security in

Brussels meeting

DURATION: 3:02

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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATURAL SOUND

DATELINE: 01/JUNE/2023, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

SHOT LIST:

1. Med shot - ATMIS-FGS delegates arrive for a meeting at the European Union (EU)
Headquarters in Brussels.
2. Wide shot - Amb. Mohammed El-Amine Souef, the Special Representative of the
Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia and Head of the
African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), Hussein Sheikh Ali, National
Security Adviser (NSA) for the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and other
high-ranking officials present at the EU meeting.
3. Med shot - High-ranking officials present in the EU meeting.

4. SOUNDBITE: Amb. Mohammed El-Amine Souef, Special Representative of the

Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia
“We are discussing handing over security responsibilities to the people of Somalia
hence taking over from ATMIS. This is a process, and it will be phased because we
don’t want a catastrophic exit. We want things done smoothly. We explained the plan
is ongoing. By June, we are going to withdraw 2,000. The objective is that by
December 2024, ATMIS exits Somalia. This requires a lot of effort, a lot of
coordination, not only between the FGS and ATMIS, but with the different partners,
mainly the EU and the UN because this mission is supported by the EU in terms of
finance. We are grateful and thank the member states and the Commission for this
generosity to support peace and security in Somalia and Africa at large.”

For more information please contact:

Snr. Communications Officer or Force Spokesperson
Ms. Gifty Bingley or Lt. Col. Abdullahi Ganale, Email: au-amisomhom@africa-union.org
Cell phone: (Somalia) +252 617 682 175/+252 613 665 356; (Nairobi) +254 722 586 005
Web: atmis-au.org | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
5. Close up - A high-ranking official at the EU meeting.
6. Med shot - High-ranking officials at the EU meeting.

7. SOUNDBITE: Hussein Sheikh Ali, National Security Adviser (NSA), Somalia

“We have 18 months to complete the job to defeat Al-Shabaab and complete the
drawdown of the entire ATMIS force. Overall, we are on track with how we are going
to approach the transition from ATMIS to the Somali Security Forces. For Somalia to
achieve that, we are preparing to reform and rebuild our security forces – military,
police, intelligence services and the custodial corps. These are the four-security
apparatus that are constitutionally accepted and we are reforming under the National
Security Architecture, which is a political agreement on security.”

8. Close up - A high-ranking official at the EU meeting.

9. Med shot - A high-ranking official at the EU meeting.
10. Close up - High-ranking officials at the EU meeting.

ATMIS-FGS delegation briefs EU officials on Somalia security in Brussels

meeting

Brussels, 5 June 2023 – The Head of the African Union peace mission in Somalia,
Ambassador Mohamed El-Amine Souef and the Somalia National Security Advisor
Hussein Mahmoud Sheikh Ali, held a series of meetings with senior officials of the
European Union (EU) in Brussels to brief them on efforts to build lasting peace and
security in the Horn of Africa country.

The two officials led a joint delegation from ATMIS and the Federal Government of
Somalia (FGS) on a three-day visit, last week, to the European Commission in
Brussels to discuss the progress and challenges of implementing the EU-backed
Somalia Transition Plan.

They outlined how Somalia has made significant strides in peace and security, arms
control, the fight against terrorism, the promotion of human rights, and national
transformation and governance.

Of key importance, they said, was the commitment by the Federal Government of
Somalia to promote reconciliation, stabilization, judicial reforms, and ensure citizen
participation in elections under universal adult suffrage.

The delegation also briefed the EU officials on the offensive operations against the
Al-Shabaab terrorist group, the upcoming drawdown of troops serving with the
African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and its complete exit by
December 2024.

For more information please contact:

Snr. Communications Officer or Force Spokesperson
Ms. Gifty Bingley or Lt. Col. Abdullahi Ganale, Email: au-amisomhom@africa-union.org
Cell phone: (Somalia) +252 617 682 175/+252 613 665 356; (Nairobi) +254 722 586 005
Web: atmis-au.org | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
“We are talking about handing over security responsibilities to Somalis and taking
over from ATMIS. This process will be in phases because we don’t want a
catastrophic exit. We want things to go smoothly,” said Amb. Souef adding: “the plan
is ongoing, by June, we will withdraw 2,000. The objective is for ATMIS to exit
Somalia by December 2024.”

“This requires effort and coordination, not just between the FGS and ATMIS, but also
with other partners such as the EU and UN. The EU provides financial support for
this mission. We are grateful and thank the member states and the Commission for
this generosity to support peace and security in Somalia and Africa at large,” said
Amb. Souef.

Somalia’s security chief Hussein Sheikh Ali noted that with the support of the African
Union troops, the Somali Security Forces have made considerable progress to
secure the country and built adequate capacity to conduct offensive
operations. Amb. Souef confirmed the country was on course to meet the exit date in
line with UN Security Council resolutions 2628 and 2670.

“We have 18 months to defeat Al-Shabaab and complete the ATMIS drawdown.
Overall, we are on track to transition from ATMIS to Somali Security Forces,” he said
noting that, “for Somalia to achieve that, we are reforming and rebuilding our security
forces – the military, police, intelligence services and the custodial corps. These are
the four security apparatus that are constitutionally accepted, and we are reforming
them under the National Security Architecture, which is a political agreement on
security,” said the National Security Advisor.

The delegation also held meetings with officials from the Council of EU-Africa
Working Party, the Managing Director of the European External Action Service
(EEAS), Rita Laranjinha, officials from the Military Planning Conduct and Capability
(MPCC) and the Director of the Integrated Security Policy (ISP), Cosmin Dobran.

They later briefed representatives of Mozambique, Gabon, and Ghana who are the
non-permanent representatives of Africa on the UN Security Council and met
diplomats representing ATMIS troop contributing countries.

The delegation included the Somalia Ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands and
Luxemburg and the Head of Mission to the EU, Yonis Hashi and Abdihakim
Mohamed Yusuf. The AU officials included Ambassador Awad Sakine Ahmat and
ATMIS Head of Political Affairs, Babatunde Taiwo.

-- Ends --

For more information please contact:

Snr. Communications Officer or Force Spokesperson
Ms. Gifty Bingley or Lt. Col. Abdullahi Ganale, Email: au-amisomhom@africa-union.org
Cell phone: (Somalia) +252 617 682 175/+252 613 665 356; (Nairobi) +254 722 586 005
Web: atmis-au.org | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube