
Participants at the Ministerial Meeting of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to AUSSOM held in Kampala, Uganda, led by Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni. Photo/IGAD/X
By Newsflash Reporter
KAMPALA, UGANDA – April 24, 2025 — The Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Workneh Gebeyehu, has issued a passionate appeal for renewed international support and enhanced troop strength for the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), citing a deteriorating security situation and severe funding shortages.
Speaking during the Ministerial Meeting of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to AUSSOM held in Kampala, Uganda, Dr Gebeyehu underscored the gravity of Somalia’s security crisis, warning that gains made in recent years are at risk of being reversed due to intensifying Al Shabaab attacks and logistical constraints on the ground.
“We gather in Kampala at a time when our regional security faces its toughest test in decades,” Gebeyehu stated. “Al Shabaab’s offensive throughout these early months of 2025 has undermined much of what we accomplished together.”
The meeting, hosted by Uganda’s Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Jacob Marksons, brought together ministers of foreign affairs and defence from Somalia and fellow TCCs, alongside senior military officials, African Union representatives, and key international partners from the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and the United Nations.
Gebeyehu lauded the Somali government, led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, for making significant political and military efforts despite overwhelming challenges.

Dr Gebeyehu greets Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, upon arrival at Kampala, Uganda. Photo/ Newsflash
However, he emphasized that the situation on the ground remains fragile, noting that AUSSOM inherited not only the mandate of the former African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) but also a staggering $96 million funding deficit.
“Only 75 percent of our budget is currently secured through UN assessed contributions,” he explained. “This means commanders in the field are forced to make impossible choices—between fuel, ammunition, and even basic necessities.”
Call for troop surge, air support and strategic coordination
Highlighting the outcomes of the Permanent Secretaries and Senior Officials’ Meeting held a day earlier on April 23, Gebeyehu commended the critical recommendations made by delegates. These include the urgent need to increase AUSSOM troop numbers by at least 8,000 personnel, deploy additional bilateral forces, enhance intelligence capabilities, and improve coordination between Somalia’s federal government, member states, and traditional leaders.
He also stressed the importance of strengthening the training and recruitment of local defence forces to maintain control over liberated areas, and called for sustainable funding mechanisms to ensure operational readiness.
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Gebeyehu urged stakeholders to not only focus on military strategy but also to invest in governance, reconciliation, and economic development to ensure long-term peace. “We must approach Somalia’s stabilization as a comprehensive mission—military success alone will not deliver lasting security,” he said. “Our efforts must also rebuild trust, institutions, and hope for a better future.”
“There is a pressing need to establish backup supply mechanisms,” Gebeyehu said, urging IGAD member states to expand access to logistics hubs. “Mission planners are kept awake at night by the 25 percent funding gap under Resolution 2719.”

IGAD, he added, is ready to take action. The regional bloc is prepared to facilitate cross-border operations, mobilize technical experts, and support the Political Oversight Body with both personnel and resources. He called on the TCCs to intensify contingency planning to mitigate supply disruptions, which remain a constant threat in conflict-affected zones.
Gebeyehu’s address carried a personal tone, recalling his visit to Mogadishu 90 days before AUSSOM’s launch on January 1, 2025. “People are not concerned with what the mission is called. They care that it keeps their families safe,” he reflected. “Behind all our diplomatic discussions and military strategies are real lives that are depending on our decisions today.”
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He concluded by reiterating IGAD’s commitment to a secure and stable Somalia by 2029 and urged partners to urgently close the financial gap and implement the agreed recommendations. “We must do better. Somalia’s stability and our regional security depend on it,” he said.
As deliberations continue in Kampala, the message from IGAD is clear: Somalia’s future hangs in the balance, and it will take a united and well-resourced response to ensure peace prevails in the Horn of Africa.