The Purpose of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)

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The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on the surface is an effective fighting force in Somalia; however, the success of AMISOM is contingent upon Ugandan participation. The existence of AMISOM is due to a long Somali history of political / economic instability and the current struggle against the Somalia based terrorist organization, Al-Shabaab. The overall objective within Somalia is to eliminate or at a minimum contain the Al-Shabaab threat. The creation of AMISOM assists the Somalian Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and its allies to effectively target Al-Shabaab while using the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), and African Union (AU) backed AMISOM as an umbrella organization.

From the UN standpoint, Somalia has been at the center of a famine epidemic that has affected over 3.5 million Somalis and put close to 250,000 in danger of dying. Famine has forced thousands of Somalis into already strained refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti, while others have fled to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps within Mogadishu. Complicating the UN effort, Al-Shabaab continues to deny international aid to the most affected populations.

The United States, UN, and international humanitarian agencies have been working to address both the direct needs of the Somali people and work toward a more permanent solution to stop this crisis in Somalia. According to the U.S. Department of State, as of January 2012, the U.S. Government had obligated over $338 million to support AMISOM with equipment, logistical support, and peacekeeping training. U.S. equipment support has included armored personnel carriers, trucks, communications equipment, water purification devices, generators, tents, and night vision equipme...

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...anceonu.org/spip.php?article6106

Council On Foreign Relations. Al-Shabaab. 10 August 2011. Author Stephanie Hanson.

Retrieved from. http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabaab/p18650

United Nations General Assembly. Proposed $80.9 Million Logistical Support Package For African Union Mission In Somalia Taken Up By Budget Committee. (2009, March 25). United Nations General Assembly. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/200 9/gaab3898.doc.htm

United Nations General Assembly. To Keep Somalis ‘Committed’, Secretary-General Urges Security Council to Continue Support of Political, Security, Recovery Processes. (2012, March 5). United Nations General Assembly. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/sgsm14141.doc.htm

U.S. Department of State. Somalia. (2012, January 20). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2863.

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