NAIROBI: The United Nations political mission in Somalia ended on Saturday after a two-year transition, closing a chapter of more than three decades of UN peacebuilding operations in the East African nation. UNSOM was established by the UN Security Council in 2013 to support Somali authorities in the transition to democracy and the rule of law after more than two decades of conflict involving groups and criminal gangs. It started as the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) in 1995.
"Today is not an end to the partnership between the United Nations and Somalia-rather, it marks the conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of another," said Raisedon Zenenga, UNTMIS officer-in-charge and the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative for Somalia in a statement. "While significant challenges remain, the closure of UNTMIS comes after considerable progress by Somalia since the early years of international efforts to support the country's recovery," he added.
The mission's mandates have been transferred to either Somali institutions or the UN country team. The transition comes as Al Shabaab, which has fought the Somali government for two decades, continues to control large swathes of central Somalia despite a major international military campaign against it. — AFP
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