http://news.yahoo.com/first-djibouti-troops-somalia-join-au-force-144153017.html
First Djibouti troops join AU Somalia force
AFP – 38 mins ago
The first Djiboutian contingent of 100 soldiers landed in Mogadishu
Tuesday to join the African Union force battling Al-Qaeda-linked
Shebab forces in Somalia, the mission said.
"An advance party consisting of 100 troops ... arrived at Mogadishu
airport this afternoon. A further 800 troops will follow in the course
of the next week or so to bring the Djiboutian contingent up to
strength," a statement said.
The Somali-speaking Djiboutians join 9,800 Burundian and Ugandan
soldiers, who have been deployed since 2007 to protect the
Western-backed government from the Shebab in the war-shattered
capital.
The AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) deputy commander Brigadier-General
Audace Nduwumunsi said the troops will be based in Al Jazeera IV area
in southern Mogadishu.
"Today’s initial deployment of the Djiboutian contingent is a great
step forward for the AMISOM Force in Mogadishu and for building
stability in the country," Nduwumusi said the statement.
Earlier Somali security officer Mohamed Abdirahman, who initially said
200 Djibouti troops arrived in Mogadishu, welcomed the deployment.
"We are desperately in need of military support to eliminate the
threat of Al-Shebab," Abdirahman said.
The troops, who marched out of the airplane in combat uniform and
carrying rifles, were welcomed at Mogadishu airport by top Somali
military officials and AMISOM leaders.
Djibouti, which neighbours the war-torn country to the north, is the
latest country to deploy troops to Somalia, as regional states strive
to battle the extremist Shebab insurgents who control much of southern
Somalia.
The hardline insurgents control large parts of southern Somalia but
are facing increasing pressure from regional armies and government
forces, with the rebels leaving fixed positions in Mogadishu in favour
of guerrilla tactics.
With the arrival of Djiboutian forces, almost every Horn of Africa
nation has been drawn into Somalia's two-decade-long conflict.
In October, Kenya sent tanks and troops into southern Somalia to fight
the Shebab militia which Nairobi blames for a series of cross-border
attacks and kidnappings of foreigners.
Ethiopian soldiers were reported to have crossed into western Somalia
last month, although Addis Ababa has denied its forces crossed the
border.
Eritrea has been accused of backing the hardline Shebab, although it
too denies any involvement in the conflict.
Djibouti's expected full contribution men will bring the AU force up
to 10,700. AMISOM has a UN mandate for up to 12,000 troops, but the AU
has asked for it to be beefed up to 20,000.
Sierra Leone is also expected to send a force of 850 soldiers next
year, while Kenya has offered for its troops already fighting in
Somalia to join AMISOM.
AU force commanders have repeatedly called for the strengthening of
the mission to oust the hardline militia.
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta visited Djibouti, home to the only
US army base in Africa last week, when he said that efforts to combat
terrorism had "moved to key nodes, like Yemen and Somalia."
The Shebab however have already condemned the Djiboutian deployment,
warning that the troops will not succeed in their mission to defeat
them.
"850 Djiboutian soldiers are ineffective where thousands of Kenyan,
Ethiopian, Ugandan, Burundian and US mercenaries have miserably
failed," an official Shebab Twitter post read last week.
"It’s very dishonourable of Djibouti to side with the enemy and take
part in the invasion of our country," another Twitter message read,
from Shehab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage.
The Horn of Africa country has been ravaged by a nearly uninterrupted
civil war since the 1991 ouster of president Siad Barre sparked
vicious bloodletting by rival militias fighting for power.
In the latest move to return stability, Somali leaders in September
signed a UN-backed agreement to improve security, adopt a new
constitution and hold polls by August 2012 when the life of the
current transitional government expires.
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Received on Tue Dec 20 2011 - 18:15:38 EST