Thursday August 21, 2025
African Union envoy El Hadji Ibrahima Diene (center left), Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia and head of AUSSOM, meets with South West State leaders and AU military officials in Baidoa during his inaugural visit to the region, Aug. 2025. The talks focused on security operations against al-Shabab and AU support for Somalia’s stabilization efforts.
Mogadishu (HOL) — The African Union’s top envoy to Somalia has pledged continued support for Somali-led stabilization efforts, as joint forces push deeper into militant strongholds in Lower Shabelle and South West State amid persistent al-Shabab threats.
Ambassador El Hadji Ibrahima Diene, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia and head of the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), made the pledge during his first visit to Baidoa, the capital of South West State.
“We are supporting our Somali brothers and sisters. Our mandate is to support a Somali-led peace process,” Diene said. “The ongoing operations are a priority defined by the federal government of Somalia, and we are collaborating closely with them to defeat al-Shabab.”
Diene
cited the liberation of
Barire and the villages of Sabid and Anole as important milestones in the joint campaign against Al-Shabaab. Somali and African Union forces recaptured the two villages in late June after weeks of fighting.
The areas remain heavily contested. On July 25, al-Shabab launched a coordinated assault on army positions in Sabid and Anole, killing four Somali soldiers and wounding seven others, the Ministry of Defense said. Somali National Army troops, backed by the Ugandan People’s Defense Force serving under AUSSOM,
repelled the attack and killed 18 militants.
At Sector 3 headquarters in Baidoa, Diene praised Ethiopian troops serving under AUSSOM for maintaining security, supported by Ghana’s Formed Police Unit.
“I found a well-prepared, well-structured sector,” Diene said. “A lot has been accomplished by our troops, and there is still much to be done. They have shared their challenges, and we will explore the best ways to support them.”
Ethiopian troops, who play a central role in Sector 3,
remain deployed under AUSSOM after Somalia reversed a
2024 decision to exclude them from the post-ATMIS mission . The reversal reflected Mogadishu’s need for experienced contingents even as political tensions with Addis Ababa persist over Ethiopia’s memorandum of understanding with Somaliland.
Sector 3 Commander Brigadier General Teklu Hurisa Janka said his forces appreciated the AU envoy’s engagement. “We provided a comprehensive update on the current security situation and ongoing military operations against al-Shabab. The SRCC expressed appreciation for our efforts, and we equally valued his presence,” he said.
During the visit, Diene met South West State Parliament Speaker Ali Said Fiqi and other regional officials to review the security landscape and the AU’s support for peacebuilding. He also toured the AUSSOM Level 2 hospital, where medical staff briefed him on services provided to both troops and civilians.
AUSSOM officially replaced the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) on Jan. 1, 2025, following unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2767 (2024) . The mission is mandated to support Somalia’s stabilization process with a leaner force structure, shifting more responsibility to Somali security forces.
The Baidoa visit marked Diene’s fourth inspection of AUSSOM sectors, following earlier tours of Sectors One, Two, and Four. He was accompanied by senior AU officials, including AUSSOM Chief of Staff Brigadier General Kindu Gezu and Force Engineer Colonel Sulieman Ibrahim.
Despite operational progress, the mission continues to face funding gaps. In May, the UN requested $41.6 million in extra-budgetary support to sustain AUSSOM logistics and air assets . Donors have been slow to respond, and the UN missed a May 15 deadline to secure guaranteed financing . The UK pledged an additional $3.9 million in April to bridge shortfalls via the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), but gaps still remain.
Diene acknowledged the resource strain, while praising cooperation with UNSOS, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), and Somali authorities. UNMAS recently warned of nearly 600 improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in Somalia since early 2024, killing more than 1,400 people, evidence of al-Shabab’s enduring threat.
Al-Shabab remains Somalia’s deadliest insurgent group, responsible for nearly 600 violent incidents in 2025 alone, according to UN and AU figures. A recent Africa Center for Strategic Studies report ranked Somalia second on the continent for extremist-related deaths .