Egypt in Final Preparations to Deploy Troops to Somalia

The Egyptian government has completed preparations to deploy troops to Somalia, where they will join the African Union Transition Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSSOM).

A military delegation from Egypt visited Mogadishu this week as part of Cairo’s plans for participation in the mission.

A report released by the UN Security Council in April 2025 indicated that nearly 1,100 Egyptian troops will participate in the AUSSSOM operation.

The delegation’s visit comes at a time of escalating tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia, following the official inauguration last month of Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project—which Cairo has described as a threat to its water security.

Ethiopia itself has committed 2,500 troops to the AUSSSOM mission. This mission replaced the African Union’s ATMIS mission earlier this year and is planned to continue until 2028.

This marks the first time Egyptian forces will participate in a peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The previous ATMIS mission was composed of troops from Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi, Djibouti, and Uganda.

In August 2024, Egypt provided military equipment to Somalia, a move that raised concerns among analysts who feared the Ethiopia-Egypt dispute could turn into a proxy conflict within Somalia.

Suleyman Dedefo, the Ethiopian Ambassador to Somalia, told Somali media this week that Ethiopia is not pleased with the presence of Egyptian troops in the country.