Welcome to SomaliNet Forums, a friendly and gigantic Somali centric active community. Login to hide this block

You are currently viewing this page as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, ask questions, educate others, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many, many other features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join SomaliNet forums today! Please note that registered members with over 50 posts see no ads whatsoever! Are you new to SomaliNet? These forums with millions of posts are just one section of a much larger site. Just visit the front page and use the top links to explore deep into SomaliNet oasis, Somali singles, Somali business directory, Somali job bank and much more. Click here to login. If you need to reset your password, click here. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

African force in Somalia reaches full strength

Daily chitchat.

Moderators: Moderators, Junior Moderators

Forum rules
This General Forum is for general discussions from daily chitchat to more serious discussions among Somalinet Forums members. Please do not use it as your Personal Message center (PM). If you want to contact a particular person or a group of people, please use the PM feature. If you want to contact the moderators, pls PM them. If you insist leaving a public message for the mods or other members, it will be deleted.
OUR SPONSOR: LOGIN TO HIDE
User avatar
Coeus
SomaliNet Super
SomaliNet Super
Posts: 11709
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2010 6:59 pm
Location: Assisting the Mujahideen in Galgala to free their region

African force in Somalia reaches full strength

Postby Coeus » Wed Dec 01, 2010 6:34 pm

Burundi has sent an additional battalion of 850 soldiers to Somalia, an army spokesman said Wednesday, bringing the African Union (AU) force in Mogadishu close to its full strength of 8,000.

"Upon request from the AU, Burundi sent an additional battalion to Somalia last week," Burundian army spokesman Gaspard Baratuza told AFP.

"This brings to four the total number of Burundian battalions deployed in this country as part of the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM)," he said.

The latest deployment from the small central African country brings to around 8,000 the total number of AMISOM troops deployed in Mogadishu, with the rest of the force provided by Uganda.

The AU force, whose main task since it was first deployed in early 2007 has been to protect the weak Western-backed transitional federal government, has failed to stabilise Mogadishu and faces a fierce Islamist insurgency.

The African Union has requested the authorised limit of the force be raised to at least 12,000 and wants a more robust mandate but the move requires approval from the United Nations Security Council.

According to military sources in Bujumbura, Burundi is training another battalion for deployment in the war-torn Horn of Africa country.

Baratuza said the latest deployment was carried out in the utmost secrecy "thanks to night flights between Bujumbura and Mogadishu."

The first contingent of Burundian soldiers dispatched to Somalia in 2007 was met by rocket fire.

More than 30 Burundian soldiers have been killed in three years of deployment in Mogadishu.

"The best solution is if the countries which pledged to contribute troops to AMISOM come good but it doesn't rule out an extra effort from Burundi if the AU requests it and volunteers the necessary support," Baratuza said.

The Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab group, which has spearheaded a bloody offensive aimed at toppling the Somali government, claimed responsibility for deadly suicide bomb attacks in Uganda in July.

It warned that Burundi was next on the list but Baratuza stressed that Bujumbura's commitment was unwavering.

"Now is not the time to be scared. Burundi is determined to help Somalia, help the Somali people in the same way we received help when we needed it," he said.

OUR SPONSOR: LOGIN TO HIDE

Hello, Has your question been answered on this page? We hope yes. If not, you can start a new thread and post your question(s). It is free to join. You can also search our over a million pages (just scroll up and use our site-wide search box) or browse the forums.

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “General - General Discussions”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 29 guests