Inadequate Strategies to Protect Somalians Undermine Efforts to Defeat al-Shabaab
As the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has started drawing down its approximately 22,000 strong force, its inability to protect civilians in its area of operations represents a major lost opportunity to build public support for the nascent Federal Government of Somalia and to degrade the standing of Al-Shabaab. AMISOM’s lack of civilian protection and unwillingness to be held to account for collateral civilian casualties has fostered distrust between the African Union (AU) peace operation and the Somali population. This ultimately undermines AMISOM’s efforts to defeat Al-Shabaab, support Somalia’s state institutions, and build a lasting peace. Although the AU has developed both a protection of civilians (POC) strategy and rules of engagement for POC, these have not explicitly mandated AMISOM peacekeepers to protect civilians. Rather, the measures solely prioritized the protection of government institutions and personnel. As a consequence, many Somalis view both AMISOM and the Armed Forces of Somalia as indifferent to their needs. Established in 2007 by the AU’s Peace and Security Council, AMISOM was originally mandated to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Government of Somalia and to assist in the implementation of the National Security and Stabilization Plan of Somalia. This mandate included reestablishing and training capable and inclusive Somali armed forces, while protecting the institutions, infrastructure, and personnel of the newly-formed government. The mandate lacks specific mention of POC and instead the mission received a set of rules of engagement that allowed for the use of force in certain situations, including to “afford protection to civilians under imminent threat of physical violence.”.
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