Mogadishu :Burundi and Uganda, the sole countries contributing troops in Somalia capital said on Saturday they have dedicated to send extra 4,000 troops to Somalia.

The defense chiefs of the two countries said a statement after they visited last week the Somali capital, Mogadishu where the AMISOM troops are fighting against al Shabab rebel group in Somalia.

The troops are aimed to bolster the battle against al Shabab rebels who control the large fractions of the country’s south and central regions.

“In a joint statement to field commanders, the chiefs declared that both Burundi and Uganda had committed the additional 4,000 troops mandated by the U.N. in December and that they were already heading for pre-deployment training.”

The two countries will each provide 2,000 troops those will be deployed into Mogadishu, military officials said.

AMISOM troops from Uganda and Burundi with the aiding of Somali government troops launched attacks to repulse the Shabab group in the capital in February causing the death of nearly 53 AMISOM soldiers.

The defense minister of Somalia, Abdukarim Fiqi also told last week that Sierra Leone will contribute one battalion those will reach the capital, Mogadishu. The minister also noted that Djibouti and Ghana are ready to send troops.

An estimated 10,000 troops from AMISOM are on the ground in Somalia, the new approach will make the number into 14,000 soldiers.

Abdale Ahmed

Comments

comments