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What Are Egypt’s Goals for its Military Presence in Somalia?

The recent Egyptian-Somali summit in Cairo, where Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud have signed a joint defense agreement (Egyptian Presidency)
The recent Egyptian-Somali summit in Cairo, where Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud have signed a joint defense agreement (Egyptian Presidency)
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What Are Egypt’s Goals for its Military Presence in Somalia?

The recent Egyptian-Somali summit in Cairo, where Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud have signed a joint defense agreement (Egyptian Presidency)
The recent Egyptian-Somali summit in Cairo, where Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud have signed a joint defense agreement (Egyptian Presidency)

A Somali official’s comment about Egyptian military equipment and delegations arriving in Mogadishu has sparked questions about Egypt’s goals in Somalia, especially with rising tensions with Ethiopia.

Experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that this move likely aims to strengthen ties by “turning agreements into action.”

They believe Egypt’s military presence will focus on training Somali forces and joining peacekeeping missions to help Somalia fight terrorism and maintain its borders.

Opinions are divided. Some see Egypt’s involvement as routine, while others worry it might escalate tensions with Ethiopia, which is already at odds with both Egypt and Somalia.

According to New Somalia, two Egyptian military planes arrived in Mogadishu on Tuesday, carrying equipment and officers as part of a broader strategy in the Horn of Africa. Somalia is seeking to boost its military through international partnerships.

This happens as Egypt prepares to join the African Union’s new mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), set to replace the current mission by January 2025.

While Cairo has not commented, Somalia’s Ambassador to Egypt, Ali Abdi Awari, welcomed the Egyptian military presence, noting that Egypt will be the first to support the Somali army after the current African Union forces withdraw.

The ambassador called this a “key step” in carrying out the agreements made during the recent Egyptian-Somali summit in Cairo, where both countries signed a joint defense deal.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, during a press conference on Aug. 14, announced that Egypt would participate in the renewed peacekeeping mission in Somalia, depending on Somalia’s invitation to do so.

Strategic expert Maj. Gen. Samir Farag says Egypt’s military presence in Somalia has three main goals: Toelp the Somali army improve its skills against al-Shabaab using Egyptian expertise, to support Somalia’s territorial integrity by strengthening its military, and to assist Mogadishu in securing the Suez Canal from the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Farag does not believe Egypt’s presence is meant to counterbalance other countries in the region, pointing out that Egypt does not have military bases there.

He expects this move to avoid major tensions, especially since Somalia, an Arab country, has requested Egypt’s peacekeeping support as part of their strategic partnership.

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Mobile Pools Offer Relief from Heat to Children in North Syria

Displaced Syrian children play in a mobile swimming pool set up by the Smile Younited charity organization, during the sweltering summer heat in the Kafr Naseh camp on July 27, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
Displaced Syrian children play in a mobile swimming pool set up by the Smile Younited charity organization, during the sweltering summer heat in the Kafr Naseh camp on July 27, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
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Mobile Pools Offer Relief from Heat to Children in North Syria

Displaced Syrian children play in a mobile swimming pool set up by the Smile Younited charity organization, during the sweltering summer heat in the Kafr Naseh camp on July 27, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
Displaced Syrian children play in a mobile swimming pool set up by the Smile Younited charity organization, during the sweltering summer heat in the Kafr Naseh camp on July 27, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)

In a run-down north Syria camp, children displaced by the country's 13-year war played and splashed in volunteer-run mobile swimming pools that provided much-needed relief from the sweltering summer heat.

Volunteers from the Smile Younited charity barely had any time to finish setting up the three pools in a busy square surrounded by tents before children of all ages jumped in, dancing along to songs blasted on loudspeakers.

The pools at Kafr Naseh camp, in the Aleppo countryside, provided rare entertainment to young boys and girls whose lives have been scarred by war and poverty.

Mohammad Ezzedine, 38, said he was thrilled to see his five children so happy.

"I hope they will come back every week... because it's hot and the kids need to distract themselves and have fun" because "they live under pressure inside a confined camp," AFP quoted him as saying.

The children "had never been to a pool before. The most we could do was put them in a plastic tub and fill it with water" when it is available to cool down in the summer, Ezzedine added.

More than five million people, most of them displaced, live in areas outside government control in Syria's north and northwest, the UN says, and many rely on aid to survive.

As the conflict drags on, a lack of international funding has severely undercut the provision of basic services including water, waste disposal and sanitation in displacement camps outside government control in Syria's north and northwest.

Residents of Kafr Naseh camp say they have not had access to free, clean water in a year and a half.

"The old and the young want water because it is a lifeline... The camps are thirsty," said 65-year-old Habiba Hamdush, who has been living in the camp for six years.

Children in the camp "are deprived of everything... Some of them have never seen a pool before and don't even know how to swim," she said.

But now, they can "enjoy the pools, which are a source of happiness and relief from the heat," she said as she watched 15 of her grandchildren splash about.

Many of them were very young when her family was displaced from neighboring Idlib province and "grew up in the camp thirsty, hungry, living in tents and exposed to the sun," she said.