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The troops from Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya and Djibouti under AU mission have been operating in Somalia since 2007.

However, the PSC said the original total exit dates will remain unchanged. The slight revision of the draw-down means a new programme will be publicised by end of February 2023.

African Union has a large number of troops in Somalia, helping the weak UN-backed government in the fight against Al-Shabaab since 2007.

African Union supports Somalia in the security and the fight against Al-Shabaab as troops from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, and Burundi are protecting the Federal government in Mogadishu.

The National Security Architecture (NSA), endorsed by the government and the federal member states in 2017 recommended a police force of 32,000 personnel.

An Al-Shabaab prosecutor said the men were convicted of involvement in intelligence operations in the militants' strongholds that led to US military airstrikes that killed top commanders.

The training was conducted by ATMIS and the United Kingdom Mission Support Team (UKMIST), and delivered through a mix of theoretical presentations and practical sessions.

A convoy of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) hit a landmine on the outskirts of Marka, the provincial capital of the southwestern Lower Shabelle region.

Some 501 civilians were killed or injured in Somalia in 2020 due to improvised explosive devices and explosive remnants of war while the number of casualties increased to 669 casualties in 2021, according to the UN.

The AU mission said the training will reinforce the knowledge and skills of the troops on the need to protect civilians and also help them understand the need to protect civilian populations during security operations.

In September 2015, at least 50 AU troops were reported by Western military sources to have died when Al-Shabaab fighters overran a military base southwest of Mogadishu.

The opposition stated that they fully support the Prime Minister's efforts to finalize the elections in Somalia which are more than one year behind the schedule due to the endless political disputes.