AU mission calls for renewed efforts to enhance peace, stability in Somalia.

 Mohammed El-Amine Souef, special representative of the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission for Somalia and head of ATMIS, said an overview of the situation in the ATMIS Areas of Responsibility in the past year shows a decrease in al-Shabab activities with the security situation remaining relatively calm across the country.

"However, we cannot afford to lower our guard since the Khawarij (al-Shabab) remain the greatest threat to Somalia's peace and stability," Souef told a media briefing in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday evening.

The AU jointly with the Somali government reconfigured the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) into ATMIS. Following the reconfiguration, ATMIS became operational on April 1, 2022, effectively replacing AMISOM, and will work to prepare the Somali security forces to take over responsibility for security in the country by 2024.