TITLE:
Challenges Influencing Peace Building Strategies in Somalia: A Study of AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
AUTHORS:
William Oluoch Ligawa
KEYWORDS:
Violent Conflict, AMISOM, Peace Support Operations, Al Shabaab
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.4 No.10,
October
19,
2017
ABSTRACT: Somalia has been caught in a wave of violent conflicts since collapse of the central government in the early 1990s. Different armed militant groups have been controlling most parts of the failed state. Al shabaab remains a major threat to the weak Federal Government of Somalia. Different peace support operations have been mounted in the past yet durable peace remains elusive. Previous peace support operations were faced with a lot of challenges prompting UN and the international community to abort the interventions. UNOSOM I and II failed to meet their mandates with the former ending after an outcry by the American citizens for US to withdraw its forces out of Somalia due to heavy casualty that was incurred by the marine forces. The Special Forces suffered fatalities during the mission dubbed Gothic the Serpent which was aimed at capturing the notorious warlord General Farah in the murky streets of Mogadishu. Such failures of the past peace support operations are still mirrored with the AMISOM. In this regard, this article evaluated the challenges AMISOM faces in influencing peace building strategies in Somalia. The researcher targeted the AMISOM troops and the locals. The primary data was collected through interviews and questionnaires. Secondary data was gathered and reviewed from journals, books, magazines, newspapers and published proceedings that corroborated the primary data. The study found out that the mechanism lacks appropriate systems for intelligence and information gathering, the AMISOM is poorly equipped with lack of sustainable funding sources and weak Federal Government of Somalia complicates the peace support operations since it is marred with internal wrangles. The study recommends that alternative sustainable sources of fund to be established; and AMISOM should enhance capacity building for the National Security Agencies (Somalia National Army, Police Force and National Intelligence Service Agency) as part of exit strategy. The findings should help in designing peace support operation practices, processes and strategies for ensuring durable and sustainable peace in Somalia and other war torn states.