Mogadishu – The United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) has provided essential logistical support for the handover of Jowhar Town Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) - Horseed, Parliament and State House - from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) to the Somali National Army (SNA). This handover is part of the ongoing third phase of the ATMIS troop drawdown.

These FOBs were previously operated by the ATMIS Burundi National Defence Forces.

“UNSOS facilitated the handover by moving the contingent equipment from the Jowhar Town FOBs to Balcad FOB, the logistical base for the ATMIS Burundi contingent,” said UNSOS Chief of Transition Planning Cell, Patrick Duah.

In addition, UNSOS relocated unserviceable UN equipment and donated serviceable items to the SNA, including water treatment plants, generators, solar panels, containers, water storage tanks and security enhancements like communication towers and boom gates.

This support builds upon UNSOS’s logistical assistance in facilitating the recent handover of the Bariire FOB in Lower Shabelle region, which marked the beginning of the third phase of the troop drawdown.

Previously under the command of Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) since 2019, Bariire FOB holds strategic importance as a buffer zone about 60 km west of the capital, Mogadishu. 

For the Bariire FOB handover, UNSOS support included repatriating the Ugandan troops from the FOB to Km 50, a staging point for the ATMIS troops.

“We also provided third party logistics contract to support the movements of their equipment from the FOB to KM50 and facilitated the handover of UN owned equipment such as generators, water treatment plants, water storage tanks, and solar panels to the SNA, who are taking over the FOB,” said Duah.

By providing logistical support for these FOB handovers, UNSOS plays a vital role in Somalia's security transition, equipping the SNA with the resources needed to assume greater responsibility for the country's security.