The UK is set to gift a compound at Mogadishu International Airport, previously known as Operating Base SHAND, to the African Union support and stabilisation mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

In a written statement to Parliament on 5 February, Minister for the Armed Forces Al Carns said a departmental minute had been laid before the House of Commons outlining the proposed transfer, in line with procedures governing gifts valued above £300,000.

Carns said Operating Base SHAND was originally commissioned in 2017 to support a three-year deployment to the United Nations Support Office in Somalia, known as Operation CATAN, which was announced in 2015 and ended in March 2019.

Since then, the base has continued to serve as the primary UK operating location in Somalia. However, Carns said the compound now exceeds the UK’s accommodation requirements.

He described AUSSOM as a “multidimensional African Union-led peace support mission approved by the United Nations,” with a focus on stabilisation, security and state-building, and an objective to transfer full security responsibility to Somali forces by December 2029.

Carns also said the UK has contributed “nearly $140 million (£102.5 million)” to AUSSOM and its predecessor mission since 2021, as part of what he described as the UK’s broader commitment to African-led peace initiatives. The minister said the Treasury has approved the proposal in principle, but under parliamentary procedure final approval will be withheld for 14 sitting days to allow MPs an opportunity to raise objections. UKDJ