The drawdown of troops in the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is underway, where the last batch of the once 26,000 strong force will leave in December 2024. As a result, there is an ongoing debate on the viability of the drawdown, with constant questions on the readiness of the Somali National Army (SNA) and the unrelenting threat posed by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. Uganda, the largest troop contributing country (TCC), is advising Somalia and other stakeholders to tread carefully because it has a unique appreciation of Somalia’s security dynamics having set foot there in 2007 as the first troop contingent.
