Is AU mission losing grip as Somalia turns to US, Türkiye?
Aussom head and Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) El Hadji Ibrahima Diene (third right) with Commander of the Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa, Maj-Gen Matthew W. Brown (centre), and other commanders following talks in Mogadishu on May 11, 2026.
The African Union’s mission in Somalia is confronting a new reality. What began as an emergency effort proposed by troop-contributing countries last year to plug security gaps left by force drawdowns and shrinking donor support is rapidly evolving into something else: the bilateralisation of the war against Al-Shabaab.
In 2025, thousands of Ugandan and Ethiopian troops were deployed to Somalia under direct agreements with Mogadishu, alongside expanded Turkish and US military support. The reinforcements were meant to stabilise the battlefield. Instead, they are steadily reshaping who controls it.
