AFRICAN UNION
UNION AFRICAINE
UNIÃO AFRICANA
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Email: situationroom@africa-union.org
PRESS RELEASE
25 MEETING OF THE MILITARY OPERATIONS COORDINATION COMMITTEE (MOCC)
TH
Addis Ababa, 01 December 2017. The Military Operations Coordination Committee (MOCC) for
the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) held its 25th Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on
01 December 2017, hosted by the African Union (AU) Commission. The Chiefs of Defense Staff
(CDS) or designated representatives of AMSIOM Troop/Police Contributing Countries (Burundi,
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda) and Somalia, attended the meeting.
Representatives from partner organizations and countries (United Nations, European Union,
United Kingdom and United States of America) also participated in the meeting.
The meeting which was chaired by the Commissioner for Peace and Security, Smail Chergui, was
conducted against the background of the preliminary conclusions of the Operational Readiness
Assessment (ORA) process, the impact of UNSCR 2372 (2017), and the upcoming Somalia Security
Conference scheduled for 04 December 2017.
The meeting was briefed by the AMISOM Special Representative for Somalia, the Force
Commander and the Police Commissioner on the prevailing political and security situation in
Somalia. They highlighted that although it was significantly weakened, Al Shaabab continues to
pose a major security threat. This was followed by discussion on critical issues relating to the
current operational challenges, the preliminary outcomes of the ORA, the need for sufficient and
sustainable resourcing for AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF). The meeting also
exchanged views on capacity building support to the SNSF to enable it to take over security
responsibilities from AMISOM.
The MOCC agreed to refocus its offensive operations and to resolve issues relating to command
and control and broader coordination. The meeting directed that the review of the AMISOM
Concept of Operations (CONOPs) should commence immediately with an experts meeting
including the AU Commission, AMISOM, T/PCCs, and the UN Support Office to Somalia (UNSOS) in
view of the heightened security threat and logistical support challenges. Noting the initial findings
of the ORA, the MOCC emphasized that Somali takeover of primary security responsibility from
AMISOM is dependent on enhancing SNSF capacity. The meeting further agreed to step up training
support to the SNA and appreciated the commitment by the TCCs to support the SNA to build its
combat capability.