• DISPATCHES
• SOMALIA

Row over troop numbers jeopardises AU mission 

The peacekeeping operation faces uncertainty after Burundi refuses to participate because of personnel allocation cuts

The fate of the new African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) is in doubt after Burundi announced that it would refuse to participate because its proposed troop allocation was cut from 3,000 to just over 1,000.

The new AUSSOM deployment is initially expected to total 12,626 troops and police personnel, down from 20,000 under its predecessor the African Transition Mission in Somalia (AC Vol 65 No 11, Mogadishu gives the UN marching orders). Successive regional peacekeeping missions, aimed at combating terror attacks by Al Shabaab and Islamic State, have been in Somalia since 2007.

However, the deployments from Somalia’s neighbours have been complicated by Mogadishu’s row with Ethiopia over its proposed agreement with Somaliland to obtain access to the Red Sea. In response, Somalia cut its own military pact with Egypt, which has also offered to deploy a large force as part of the AUSSOM mission. That would reduce the allocation of Burundian troops, a move by Somalia which has been taken as a snub by Burundi which relies on the AU mission as a vital source of foreign exchange.

Meanwhile, there is still confusion over whether Ethiopian troops will be part of AUSSOM. Somali officials had repeatedly insisted that it would not welcome their forces because of the rift over Somaliland (Dispatches 12/11/24, Defence Minister insists Ethiopia not be part of new AU mission). Last week the Foreign Ministry in Addis Ababa reported that Defence Minister Aisha Mohammed had held talks with Somali officials to discuss keeping most of its 10,000 troops in Somalia and collaborating on the AUSSOM mission, though this has been played down in Mogadishu.

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