African Union Mission in Somalia

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was authorized by the United Nations Security Council in February 2007 to support peace efforts in Somalia. Somalia has faced significant challenges, including ongoing violence, clan-based conflicts, and a lack of centralized government, stemming from decades of civil war.12

Numerous peace conferences in the 1990s were largely unsuccessful. A 2000 conference led to a Transitional National Government (TNG), but its authority was limited. Further talks resulted in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004, though it initially operated from Kenya due to instability in Somalia. The rise of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in 2006 led to conflict, with Ethiopian and Somali troops eventually pushing the ICU out of Mogadishu. This conflict contributed to the survival of al-Shabaab, an militant group that began a campaign of guerrilla attacks. AMISOM's initial mandate was extremely limited, and Somalia continued to face violence, drought, flooding, and famine.13

In 2025, AMISOM was replaced by the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), focused on state-building and security, with the aim of transferring full security responsibility to Somali forces by the end of 2029. Despite these efforts, political tensions and disputes over federalism persist, and al-Shabaab remains a threat.4