Handover of Buurhakaba base
Ethiopian troops serving with the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) have withdrawn from Buurhakaba district in the Bay region, handing control of a strategic military base to the Somali National Army, as reported by both Garowe Online and Hiiraan Online.
The handover took place on Aug. 8, when AUSSOM formally transferred technical control of the Buurhakaba Forward Operating Base to Somalia's 60th Division, with logistical assistance from the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS). The base had been occupied by Ethiopian troops since 2014, serving under successive African Union missions, including the predecessor AMISOM.
AUSSOM described the transfer as another step in Somalia's gradual assumption of responsibility for its own security. Local reports indicated the Ethiopian contingent left the town shortly after the handover ceremony, though Ethiopian forces remain deployed at other locations in the Bay and Bakool regions, according to Garowe Online.
Strategic significance and challenges
Buurhakaba is strategically important because of its location in the Bay region along the road linking Baidoa, the capital of South West State, with Mogadishu. The area has been a focus of military operations against al-Shabab, and although government forces control the town, al-Shabab maintains influence in parts of the surrounding countryside, Garowe Online noted.
The withdrawal raises questions about whether Somali troops can independently secure strategic areas where foreign forces have maintained a presence for years, particularly as al-Shabab continues to operate in parts of southern and central Somalia, Hiiraan Online reported.
Somali forces do not always possess the heavy weapons, intelligence capabilities, air support, and sustained logistics previously available to Ethiopian units, Garowe Online reported. The group has also expanded its use of drones for surveillance. Al-Shabab has previously exploited security gaps created by foreign troop withdrawals, and recent attacks in the Baidoa area have demonstrated how the group can exploit divisions between Somali authorities, the outlet added.
Funding and logistical uncertainty
AUSSOM replaced the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia at the beginning of 2025, designed to support Somali forces while gradually transferring responsibility for the country's security, Garowe Online reported. However, the mission faces significant financial and operational challenges.
The United States informed the African Union in July that it would not support the continuation of U.N. logistical assistance to AUSSOM beyond Dec. 31, Garowe Online reported. UNSOS provides AUSSOM with fuel, food, transportation, communications, medical evacuation, and other services, and the African Union warned the mission would struggle to operate at its current level without that support.
Troop-contributing countries met in Kampala in late July and called for an orderly transition of 18-24 months, according to Garowe Online. The handover also comes as Somalia and international partners debate the future of AUSSOM and the extent of international logistical and financial support needed to sustain military operations against al-Shabab, Hiiraan Online reported.
Broader context
Recent fighting in Baidoa between federal troops and forces aligned with former South West state President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen resulted in deaths and injuries, Garowe Online reported. Disputes between the federal government and federal member states over elections, constitutional changes, and power-sharing have weakened national security coordination, according to the outlet.
Ethiopia has long regarded al-Shabab as a threat to its national security, Garowe Online reported. A rapid or poorly coordinated withdrawal could compel Addis Ababa to reinforce domestic border deployments, the outlet suggested. Reports of connections between al-Shabab and Yemen's Houthi movement, including possible arms trading, have not been independently confirmed, Garowe Online noted.
Garowe Online reported that the future of Burhakaba depends on protecting supply routes, cooperating with local communities, providing intelligence, air support, and logistics, and political cooperation. The outlet framed the withdrawal as a test of Somalia's security transition, with an accelerated and underfunded withdrawal potentially giving al-Shabab an opportunity.