US Tells AU It Will End Funding Support for AUSSOM's UNSOS Logistics Backbone After Dec 31, 2026

In a July 1 letter to the African Union, the United States said it will not support the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) — the logistics backbone (fuel, medevac, food, engineering, contingent-owned-equipment reimbursement) for the roughly 12,000-troop AUSSOM mission — beyond AUSSOM's current mandate expiry on December 31, 2026, and will oppose any UN Security Council renewal that includes UNSOS support. Washington cited Somalia's failure to take ownership of its own security despite roughly $2 billion in UNSOS support plus $1.6 billion in bilateral aid over the past decade. The AU Commission convened an emergency meeting on AUSSOM's future in response; a senior African diplomat called the US decision 'irreversible' — a major threat to the security architecture propping up the federal government against Al-Shabaab, landing directly atop the ongoing constitutional crisis.