AU, Somalia agree on troop numbers for new mission.

The federal government of Somalia and the African Union have agreed on the number of troop-contributing countries for a new AU mission following weeks of differences between Ethiopia and Somalia, and later on between Somalia and Burundi over the number of troops coming from each country. An AU official, who requested anonymity because he does not have authorization to speak with media, told VOA that Burundian forces who have been in Somalia since 2007 will be leaving the country after the two governments disagreed on the number of troops coming from Burundi. The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM, is expected to have 11,900 personnel operating on the ground in Somalia, including soldiers, police and civilian support staff, according to Somali and AU officials. The new arrangement allocates 4,500 soldiers to Uganda, 2,500 to Ethiopia, 1,520 to Djibouti, 1,410 to Kenya and 1,091 to Egypt, according to the official. A second AU diplomat who requested anonymity for the same reasons told VOA that the negotiations about Burundian soldiers in Somalia are still ongoing. “The departure of Burundi would have significant political and financial repercussions for the AU,” the second diplomat said. “In addition, there is still a major issue of funding for AUSSOM that has not been resolved. Burundi sacrificed a lot, and they deserve to have their concerns addressed,” he added. There will also be several hundred police personnel from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Egypt, to be based in Mogadishu, Jowhar, and Baidoa. The completion of the troop-contributing countries was delayed by diplomatic tension between Somalia and landlocked Ethiopia over the latter’s controversial sea access deal with Somaliland on Jan. 1, 2024. Mogadishu protested the deal as a “violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Somaliland is a breakaway region of Somalia. The tensions eased after the two sides reached a breakthrough agreement on Dec. 11 in Ankara with the mediation of Turkey, where they pledged to end their differences. This week, Somalia and Ethiopia signed an agreement that secured the participation of Ethiopian troops in the new African Union mission in Somalia. The agreement followed a visit to Mogadishu over the weekend by an Ethiopian delegation led by military chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, accompanied by Ethiopian intelligence chief Redwan Hussien, where they met with their Somali counterparts, General Odawa Yusuf Rage and Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbalolshe. State media in Somalia and Ethiopia both confirmed the visit.