East Africa leaders want more troops in Somalia

East Africa leaders want more troops in Somalia

The AU's Peace and Security Council head, Ramtane Lamamra has said that East African defence ministers want the United Nations to endorse a plan that boosts the size of an African Union force trying to stabilise Somalia by including Kenyan troops.

The ministers met in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to try to forge a strategy to defeat the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, which has been driven out of the capital Mogadishu, and is now facing a new front after Ethiopia joined Kenya last week to unilaterally deploy troops.

Nairobi sent troops into the Horn of Africa country last year following a wave of cross-border attacks and kidnappings it blamed on the rebels.

The AU has a force of less than 10,000, known as AMISOM, made up of Ugandan and Burundian soldiers largely responsible for preventing the militants from taking over Somalia.

Lamamra said Djibouti last month sent in the first 100 of a planned deployment of 900 troops, and the inclusion of Kenyan troops would push the force to a total of 17,700.

"We have been working very closely on a new strategic concept that will take on board the new situation on the ground; it means you will have an AMISOM with 17,700 soldiers. The main thing here is Kenya will be rehatted and Djibouti will be a part of AMISOM" Lamamra said.

Boost security

The AU official said that part of the strategy was to also boost Somalia's security and police force to try to shore up the peacekeepers' efforts.

Another official said that AMISOM's mandate, currently limited to Mogadishu, would be effectively expanded with Kenya's inclusion in the force. Lamamra said the AU was scheduled to endorse the plan on Thursday.

"We will then go to New York to present it to the UN Security Council which is likely to have a special session on this in the next few days," he said.

The United Nations is one of the funding agencies of the operation.

REUTERS/Ehimen/Cokey