East African leaders meet in Uganda over Somalia peacekeeping mission

East African  leaders from countries contributing troops to the peacekeeping mission in Somalia have held a meeting in Uganda Thursday to discuss the achievements made so far and plans to start withdrawing from the troubled Horn of African country.

Djibouti's Ismail Omar Guelleh, Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, Kenya's William Ruto, Somalia's Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen, are meeting at State House Entebbe,  President Yoweri Museveni said in a tweet.

The summit follows a meeting by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni last December where the former requested the latter to host the meeting.

Troop-contributing countries to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) include Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

The meeting resolved to implement the Somalia Transition Plan, according to State House Uganda. The members commended President Museveni for convening the meeting.

The United Nations Security Council has already recommended a drawdown of troops from Somalia to allow the national army there to take over all the operations.

The ATMIS was created when the African Union jointly with the Somali government reconfigured the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Following the reconfiguration, the ATMIS became operational on April 1, 2022, effectively replacing the AMISOM, and will work to prepare the Somali security forces to take over responsibility for security in the country by 2024