The UK Government has reinforced its support to the Somali Security Forces (SSF) through an additional contribution of £2.3 million to the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) Trust Fund. The new contribution to the UNSOS Trust Fund will enable the provision of critical, non-lethal logistical support, including food, medical evacuation and other supplies. The new funding was announced during a meeting between the newly re-appointed Minister of Defence H.E Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur and UK Ambassador to Somalia, Kate Foster.
In 2021/2022, the UK provided £4.9 million of funding to the UNSOS Trust Fund, which supplied Somali soldiers and police officers with a year’s worth of support. British Ambassador to Somalia, Kate Foster said:”The UK’s £2.3 million contribution to the UNSOS Trust Fund will be crucial in maintaining SSF capabilities to over 10,000 Somali troops in the fight against Al-Shabaab.”
UK contributions to the UNSOS Trust Fund are in addition to UK military support to the SNA. Since 2016, the UK has trained over 2000 SNA soldiers. The training focuses on a range of areas, including defensive operations, basic command and control and the law of armed conflict, leadership, live firing, combat first aid, human rights and gender training to help enhance their efforts in fighting Al-Shabaab. The new funding builds on longstanding UK support to the Somali Security Forces and the UNSOS Trust Fund.
The United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) was established on 9 November 2015, through a UN Security Council Resolution 2245. UNSOS is a successor office to the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA), which was established in 2009 (S/RES/1863 (2009) to provide logistical support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). UNSOS core mission is to provide critical support to AMISOM, UNSOM and the Somali Security Forces to make them more effective in supporting peace and stability efforts in Somalia.