President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked the international community to allocate adequate resources to military operations in Somalia against terror group al Shabaab.
Uhuru said land, air and maritime capabilities and equipment must be sufficient for the African Union Mission in the country to achieve its objective of stabilising the country.
“Denying a mission like Amisom these capabilities is not only unacceptable but untenable,” Uhuru told heads of state and government of troop-contributing countries in Djibouti on Sunday.
He noted that the peacekeeping mission lacks requisite force multipliers and regretted that the twelve military helicopters authorised by the UN Security council in 2012 are yet to be deployed.
Uhuru also expressed disappointment at the international community’s failure to live up to its obligation, saying the primary mandate of promoting international peace and security world over remains with the United Nations Security Council.
"Whereas the continent is footing the bill of stabilising Somalia by blood and flesh, it is disheartening that the international community is contemplating reducing support to Amisom,” he said.
He asked the leaders to "reject insinuations" that the African Union will meet the cost of the military mission in Somalia.
“At the minimum, the continent should demand that Amisom’s funding be drawn from UN-assessed contributions,” he said.
The President urged African leaders to prepare proposals for submission to the United Nations regarding the future of Amisom, especially post-August 2016.
“Interaction must focus attention on whether the mandate of Amisom as currently provided can deal with the today’s threat dynamics. Our assessment in Kenya suggests not,” he said.
He cited challenges that have reduced the mission's effectiveness and stressed the urgent need for the mission to immediately deploy troops in all designated areas.
Deployment, the President added, could be effected through a re-organisation of the posture of a troops surge. This, he said, will enable the establishment of an effective presence that guarantees sustained success and further liberation of areas under the terrorists.
“As a matter of urgency, Amisom must quickly deploy troops to Gedo region in Sector 3,” he said. Part of the Kenyan contingent of Amisom is at El Adde camp in the region recently attacked by Al shaabab.
Other challenges facing Amisom include recommendations by the joint AU-UN benchmarking exercise conducted to replace military forces with Police Formed Units.
He said while the importance of policing functions in the attainment of mission's broad mandate cannot be ignored, such a role will not be achieved through a military draw-down.
The President shared Kenya’s internal review that points to the need for a surge of military and police units within the shortest time possible, preferably before the 2016 election in Somalia.
He proposed the suspension of the implementation of the recommendations of the benchmarking exercise, saying a comprehensive review of the Concept of Operations should be conducted instead.
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and host Djibouti President Ismail Guelleh said the Somali National Army and police need to be properly coordinated to ensure security and stability.
They thanked Amisom member countries, the AU and the UN for being steadfast in undertaking measures aimed at increasing resources to completely degrade al Shabaab.
African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui thanked the troop-contributing countries for their commitment saying their efforts are not in vain.
“We need to promote mobility of Amisom forces. This will increase pressure against al Shabaab militants and strengthen the government of Somalia,” Chergui said.
The leaders further called on the Somalia leaders to strengthen reconciliation process that they said is key to stabilising the country.