MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia has slammed the African Union over a report blaming the federal government for serious setbacks in the peace-building process as Islamist militants still maintain presence in large swathes of territory in the country’s south more than a decade after AU peacekeepers had been deployed.
The African Union now weighing possible withdrawal of troops from the war-torn nation proposed four options for the future of its peacekeeping mission after 2021, including deployment of East Africa Standby Forces and AMISOM exit as efforts aimed at ensuring that Somali troops take responsibility for the security of the country have abysmally failed and the country still remains beset by militants.
Amid questions raised over why AMISOM peacekeepers have so been unable to dislodge Al-Shabaab from their strongholds and vast swathes of territory in south and central Somalia, the African Union said the failure of the Somali government to resolve constitutional review, power and resource sharing and its reluctance to adhere to the constitution were prime causes to serious reversals in the efforts to restore peace in the Horn of Africa nation.
“Somali political actors do not respect their own agreements, political actors show deference to the clan rather than the federal constitutional order,” the report said.
Following a meeting held in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday, Somalia rejected the findings of the African Union report and said it will issue a formal statement.
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