US funding exit casts doubt on AU peace mission in Somalia

The African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia faces a major logistical and financial challenge after the United States announced it would no longer support the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (Unsos) beyond December 31, 2026.

Unsos is the UN-run logistics mechanism that sustains AU operations in Somalia.

The decision raises fresh doubts over the future of the AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (Aussom), whose troops rely on Unsos for critical services ranging from food and fuel to transport, medical care and communications.

On Wednesday, the US, which covers about 26 percent of the UN’s budget through assessed contributions, informed the AU Commission (AUC) that it would not support the continuation of Unsos beyond the current authorisation for Aussom, which expires on December 31, 2026.

While Washington said it would not object to the UN Security Council (UNSC) renewing Aussom’s Chapter VII mandate when it comes up for renewal in December, it warned that it would oppose any renewal that included Unsos or any other form of UN logistical or operational support.

The Mogadishu-based logistics office is the mission’s largest provider of non-lethal logistical support to Aussom’s 11,826 uniformed personnel, 680 police officers and 85 civilian staff deployed across five sectors and 49 locations in south-central Somalia, covering an area of about 400,000 square kilometres.

For the 2026/27 fiscal year, Unsos operates on an approved budget of about $481.7 million, a 7.5 percent decline from its 2025/26 budget, according to UN documents reviewed by The EastAfrican.

Support network

Horn of Africa peace and security analyst Ruth Namatovu said US funding for the logistics package and AU missions has already come under pressure because of congressional rescission measures targeting non-UN peace operations, prompting other international partners, including the UK, to provide supplementary support.

In April 2026, the EU announced a €75 million (about $87.7 million) funding package for Aussom’s military component, ending two years of negotiations to restore funding for the AU mission.

The package covers troop reimbursements and non-lethal equipment.

The larger logistics package, however, is managed by Unsos and provides Aussom with life-support and operational services, including food, water, health and sanitation services, fuel, engineering support, vehicles, communications and information technology, aviation, property management, capacity-building and medical services.

The office also administers reimbursement for contingent-owned equipment under a framework established in 2012, when an AU–UN memorandum of understanding formalised compensation arrangements for equipment lost or damaged through hostile action.

Donor fatigue

The US move signals Washington’s continued disengagement from funding non-UN peace operations, with the Somalia mission serving as a prime example.

Since the deployment of the African Union's first peace mission in Somalia in 2007, Aussom and its predecessor missions have struggled to secure sustainable funding as major donors either withdrew support or significantly reduced their contributions.

Since 2007, US contributions to peace operations in Somalia have totalled nearly $2 billion in assessed contributions to Unsos and its predecessor, about $1.6 billion in bilateral support to troop-contributing countries, and hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance to Somali security forces.

Washington has also provided billions more in humanitarian and development assistance to Somalia.

Is AU mission losing grip as Somalia turns to US, Türkiye?

Since 2024, the US has opposed efforts by the AU, the UN and other traditional donors to finance Aussom under UN Security Council Resolution 2719, which proposed using UN-assessed contributions to cover 75 percent of the mission’s $166.5 million annual budget.

Washington’s threat last year to veto the proposal in the Security Council effectively extinguished hopes that the mechanism would provide the mission with timely, adequate and predictable funding.

By withdrawing support for Unsos, the US is delivering a strong rebuke to the mission and signalling growing donor fatigue among Western partners that have bankrolled peace operations in Somalia, which has remained in a state of “no war, no peace” for decades.

“Despite more than a decade of international support, Somalia has been unable to sustain progress against al-Shabaab, take ownership of its security functions, or undertake serious security sector reform,” the US said in its letter to the AU Commission.

It added: “Internal rivalries and political infighting continue to undermine the fight against al-Shabaab and ISIS, and the benefits of international support will remain limited until Somalia’s leaders unite to address the country’s security and governance challenges.”

The EastAfrican was unable to obtain comment from the Aussom leadership on the latest setback affecting the mission’s logistics support office.