From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Thu Sep 03 2009 - 09:57:45 EDT
Djibouti to send 500 soldiers to Somalia: report
2 Sep 2, 2009 - 1:18:20 PM
DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti Sep 2 (Garowe Online) - The government of the
Republic of Djibouti is planning to send peacekeepers to neighboring
Somalia soon, Radio Garowe reports.
Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mohamud Ali Yusuf recently said that
Djiboutian troops would serve as part of the African Union peacekeeping
force in Mogadishu, known as AMISOM. He noted that Djiboutian soldiers
are "ready" and will soon be transported to Somalia with "assistance of
France."
His comment was reiterated by Djibouti's ambassador to the United
States, Mr. Roble Olhaye.
Speaking on VOA Somali Service, Ambassador Olhaye said the Djibouti
government decided to dispatch peacekeepers to Somalia to assist that
country's interim government defeat an insurgency raging since early
2007.
"The Djibouti Government made the decision [to send peacekeepers] after
the U.N. rejected sending a peacekeeping force to Somalia. It is our
duty to help the Somali government, as this is the only option,"
Djibouti's ambassador to the U.S. said during the interview.
He did not specify the number of Djiboutian soldiers being sent to
Somalia, but independent sources put that number at around 500 soldiers.
AMISOM currently consists of 5,000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi. The
force is short of the 8,000 soldiers approved by the AU to help guard
government institutions in Mogadishu and train Somali security forces.
Meanwhile, upwards of 800 Somali soldiers are currently receiving
military training in Djibouti camps with the help of French military
advisers.
Last month, Somali Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Mr.
Abdirahman Abdishakur, announced that Nigeria and Djibouti were sending
peacekeepers to boost the AMISOM force in Mogadishu.
Somali insurgents oppose the presence of AMISOM and accuse government
leaders of being Western puppets.
Source: Garowe Online
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