bidenkulaha
GalYare
Look at thisTotal bullsh*t. Not happening. No atmis is getting removed either as they were signed in to stay 1 or two more years.
If HSM manages to lift somalia's arm embargo and gets atmis out then consider me a HSM supporter from that day. I'd defend him everywhere.
In an exclusive interview on January 26 with VOA Somali, Hussein Sheikh-Ali said Somalia has sent 3,000 soldiers each to Eritrea and Uganda in the past few weeks. He said an additional 6,000 recruits will be sent to Ethiopia and Egypt.
"We want to complete making 15,000 soldiers ready within 2023," Ali told VOA in the one-on-one interview in Washington where he met with U.S. officials to seek more support for Somalia.
The first set of troops are now returning from Uganda as of this week. They took a 3 month training course
On the delay, ATMIS is still on the same 2024 schedule. However the first 2,000 pull out was delayed 6 months
Ali said the delay was requested because the troops Somalia is expecting to take over from ATMIS are in training abroad. He also said the government doesn't want to disrupt military operations against al-Shabab in central Somalia, as the areas ATMIS troops would vacate will have to be taken over by Somali forces.
This makes complete sense as Somalia still doesn’t have much of an armed forces that can sit in bases. Rather just a few thousands that can go on offensives. Hence why in the past they always had to vacate land they easily captured. So these 15,000 sent abroad will be crucial to allowing them to take over ATMIS bases.
Danab and Gorgor can continue to lead offensive operations with the support of clan militias.
He said the government will have 24,000 troops trained and fully equipped by next year.
"There is no reason for ATMIS to stay or to continue to stay in Somalia," he added.
The biggest problem has always been funding.
The Somali parliament recently approved its biggest-ever budget for 2023 at $967 million, but domestic revenue is very low, and two-thirds of the budget comes from external support. That budget allocates $113 million for the national army.
"To date, the Somali authorities alone cannot afford the army they want," the report said.
Elmi said building an army without a budgetary plan could result in an unsustainable situation.
"An army is more than paying a salary. So many expenses come with it," he said.
"We have only emphasized sustainability. We are not specifying a number. We are saying they must be affordable. That affordability is coming from the capacity of the state."
Hence the UAE deal
The report said Somali army units trained by the United States, known as Danab (Lightning), and Turkey, known as Gorgor (Eagle), are now "reasonably well equipped," but the regular army units are only marginally better equipped than the Ma'awisley, the local clan militias supporting government forces.
"This inequality is so pronounced that officials now talk about the SNA being effectively two armies — one that is mobile, and one that is largely stationary," the report says.
The report also highlights struggles in generating and deploying "hold" forces that can stabilize newly recaptured areas.
"There is an important difference between pushing al-Shabab forces out of areas and holding them long enough to deliver a real peace dividend to the local inhabitants," it said.