Burundi minister in Somalia ahead of conference over AU mission's future

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A top minister from Burundi is in Somalia ahead of the conference that will discuss the future of the AU Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], with the mandate of peacekeepers set to expire within the next 20 months in line with Somali Transition Plan [STP].

Albert Shingiro, Burundi's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, arrived in Mogadishu on Monday and was received by top Somali officials at the Aden Added International Airport in the capital and he is expected to meet the country's top leadership.

Burundi is one of the Troops Contributing Countries [TCCs] and has been supporting the peace processes in Somalia for the last several years given the friendship between Bujumbura and Mogadishu. Burundi itself was a victim of a deadly war which led to the deaths of thousands of people.

The Burundian delegation, which includes General Silas Ntigurirwa, an advisor to the President of Burundi on military affairs, will meet with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Burundi Minister will convoy greetings from President Ndayishimye to President Mohamud.

On April 27th, the African Union is expected to hold a conference over the future of ATMIS with Somalia indicating willingness to have the mandate of the army extended. The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia is supporting the training and equipping of the Somali National Army [SNA].

Early this year, while meeting some leaders of Troops Contributing Countries, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud did ask for the redeployment of more soldiers to Somalia to help in battling Al-Shabaab. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud maintains that for Al-Shabaab to be defeated, the country needs extra assistance from stakeholders.

Already, Ethiopia has sent more soldiers to the country as Somalia prepares for the second phase of the war against the militants who control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia. During the first phase, over 3000 Al-Shabaab militants are believed to have been killed in the country.

GAROWE ONLINE