The African Union force in Somalia said it has completed the first phase of a troop reduction which is to ultimately put security fully in the hands of the national army and police.
A statement by the African Transitional Mission in Somalia, ATMIS said seven bases had been handed over to Somali security forces, enabling the withdrawal of 2,000 troops by the June 30 deadline.
ATMIS chief logistics officer Bosco Sibondavyi said the handover was an important milestone in the implementation of the Somalia Transition Plan and UN Security Council resolutions.
On Tuesday, the Security Council renewed its authorisation of the AU force for six months, which will see the departure of a further 3,000 soldiers at the end of September.
The ATMIS contingent had included over 19,000 soldiers and police officers from several African nations including Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, but will have to be reduced to zero by the end of 2024.
In April 2022, the Council approved the replacement of AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia), which had been set up in 2007, by ATMIS, a mission with a reinforced mandate to fight Al-Shabaab Islamists.
The group, which has links with Al-Qaeda, has been waging a bloody insurgency against the fragile internationally backed government in Mogadishu for more than 15 years.
Its fighters continue to carry out deadly attacks despite a major offensive launched last August by pro-government forces, backed by the AU force and US air strikes.
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