Opposition Council Urges AU Allies to Push Political Deal

Somalia’s opposition-led Somali Future Council has appealed to six African nations contributing troops and police to the African Union mission in the country, urging them to make an inclusive political settlement a priority alongside their security support. The letter, dated July 27 and addressed to the leaders of Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Burundi and Egypt, […]

Somalia’s opposition-led Somali Future Council has appealed to six African nations contributing troops and police to the African Union mission in the country, urging them to make an inclusive political settlement a priority alongside their security support. The letter, dated July 27 and addressed to the leaders of Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Burundi and Egypt, comes as tensions between the federal government and regional states such as Puntland and Jubaland remain unresolved.

The appeal matters because it lands at a delicate moment for Somalia’s security architecture. AUSSOM, the AU mission that replaced ATMIS in January 2025, is already grappling with a severe funding crisis, and troop-contributing countries are due to meet in Kampala this week — with a defence ministers’ session on July 30 and an extraordinary summit of leaders on July 31 — to decide the mission’s future. The council’s warning that political fragmentation could undermine the fight against Al-Shabaab adds pressure to talks already strained by money and mandate disputes.

In the letter, the council thanked the six countries for nearly two decades of military and security support, acknowledging the sacrifices of African personnel in Somalia’s stabilization effort. It then urged them to use their diplomatic leverage to push the federal government, federal member states and opposition groups toward a negotiated political roadmap.