The African Union called an emergency meeting on Friday about its military mission in Somalia after the United States said it would end critical funding from next year.
Washington said the decision was due the government’s lack of progress in containing the Islamist al-Shabaab group or in taking ownership of its own security functions.
Somalia has been battling the insurgency for around two decades but the al Qaeda-linked militants still control large swathes of the country.
The nearly 12,000-strong AU mission props up the fragile government in Mogadishu, helping it push back against the group whose previous offensives have brought it close to the capital.
Officials say the withdrawal of US funding via the United Nations will likely end operations of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia.
