A snap shot of the participating troopers of the Egyptian Armed forces in AUSSOM in Somalia pose with their equipment during the lineup. Courtesy of Egyptian Armed Forces Spokesman.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Abdelatty said the deployment comes at the request of the AU and its Peace and Security Council (PSC), as well as the Somali government, to support stability in the Horn of Africa country.
He described Somalia as directly linked to Egyptian, Arab, and African national security, citing its strategic position at the entrance to the Red Sea.
“The unity of Somali territory is a matter of utmost importance,” Abdelatty said, warning that attempts to divide Somalia or detach any of its regions “cannot be tolerated”.
He also referred to Israel’s unilateral recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, saying there is an African consensus rejecting such moves and reaffirming Somalia’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
Abdelatty added that Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud recently visited Egypt, where he reviewed Egyptian troops preparing to join the mission.
AU mission background
African Union operations in Somalia have largely functioned as ground-based stabilisation forces without an AU-owned fixed-wing combat air wing, relying on nationally contributed helicopters and external partner support for aviation needs.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), launched in 2007, supported Somalia’s transitional federal institutions and led major offensives against the armed group Al-Shabaab. At its peak, the mission fielded more than 20,000 personnel across multiple sectors in south and central Somalia.
Troop contributors included Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and, for a limited period, Sierra Leone.
AMISOM did not operate an AU-controlled combat air wing. Helicopters were supplied by troop-contributing countries under national command, while fixed-wing strikes and advanced surveillance were largely carried out by external partners outside AU command structures.
In April 2022, AMISOM was replaced by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), tasked with overseeing a phased drawdown and transferring security responsibilities to Somali forces. The force retained many of the same contributors but at reduced levels.
Like its predecessor, ATMIS relied on nationally deployed helicopters and United Nations (UN)-contracted airlift rather than an AU-owned air force.
The current AUSSOM mission became operational on 1 January 2025 with a smaller, stabilization-focused mandate. Expected or confirmed troop contributors include Egypt, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, alongside police contributions from Egypt, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
AUSSOM has not established an AU-owned fixed-wing combat fleet, with aviation support continuing to depend primarily on nationally contributed assets.
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