US Special Forces have embarked on training personnel of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia – AUSSOM to strengthen their capacity in psychological and integrated influence operations as part of efforts to counter Al-Shabaab propaganda.
According to a statement issued on Thursday evening by the UPDF Military Headquarters in Mbuya, the two-week course is underway at the Force Headquarters in Mogadishu and brings together personnel from the military and police components drawn from various sectors.
The US training for AUSSOM is reportedly focused on psychological operations, as the conflict in Somalia is now as much about narratives as it is about combat. Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda-linked group that controls swathes of central and southern Somalia, together with the smaller ISIS-Somalia faction, is said to rely heavily on sophisticated propaganda to recruit fighters, extort communities and discredit AU forces as occupiers.
UPDF said, by equipping AUSSOM troops with skills to counter false messaging and win local trust to cut off the militants’ community support and intelligence networks, is vital for mission success.
Opening the course, the Sector One Commander, Brig Gen Jackson Kayanja, said influence operations should go beyond actions on the ground to address information, perceptions and narratives.
Kayanja urged officers and troops across all sectors to actively participate to develop a shared understanding and capability in psychological operations, including the ability to influence human behavior in support of mission objectives.
The Chief Military Information Officer at Force Headquarters, Lt Col Patrick Amaru, said part of the training is also intended to strengthen teamwork and working relationships among AUSSOM personnel from different sectors and specialties, facilitated by instructors from the United States Joint Special Operations Task Force-JSOTF.
AUSSOM officially started operations on January 1, 2025, after authorization by the African Union and the UN Security Council, replacing the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia-ATMIS.
The mission is mandated to support Somali security forces to assume full responsibility for security, degrade Al-Shabaab, protect civilians and support the political process and stabilization, in line with the Somalia Security Development Plan. It operates with about 11,900 personnel including military, police and civilian staff contributed by Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Egypt, with Uganda serving as a major troop contributing country and holding Sector One which covers the Banadir region and surrounding areas.
However, since replacing ATMIS, AUSSOM has faced funding and logistical shortfalls, political tensions among troop contributors sparked by Egypt’s inclusion and the Ethiopia-Somaliland MoU dispute, a resurgence of Al-Shabaab attacks exploiting security gaps as Somali forces take over bases.