ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — The African Union on Monday decided to maintain its peacekeepers in conflict-torn Somalia for another two months, and appealed for more countries to send troops to bolster the force.
The decision to extend the mandate of the 3,400-strong force, due to expire at the end of the month, was taken at a meeting of the AU's peace and security council in the Ethiopian capital.
The council "discussed in depth the situation in Somalia and decided to prolong the mandate of the mission on the ground for two months," AU spokesman El Ghassim Wane told AFP.
Wane said the body had also "reiterated its appeal to member states to furnish the necessary troops to AMISOM," as the AU Mission in Somalia is known.
The peacekeeping force, which deployed in Somalia in March 2007, currently comprises 3,400 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi, less than half the hoped-for 8,000 troops.
Nigeria has offered to send a battalion to join the force, said Zambian Foreign Minister Kabinga Pande who chaired the meeting.
"Three countries have already offered to move in Somalia. Uganda and Burundi with at least one more battalion each, and Nigeria has confirmed one battalion."
The African political bloc has been fighting an uphill battle to get its members to provide troops for the beleaguered force, a situation made more urgent by the withdrawal of Ethiopia's contingent, which has been helping a weak transitional government battle Islamist fighters for the last two years.
Pande said Ethiopia could not be persuaded to keep its troops in the country beyond early January.
"The Ethiopian government indicated that they can only go to the fifth of January but not later," said Pande.
Ethiopia sparked concern across the bloc when it announced last month that it would withdraw its 3,000 soldiers by the end of December, raising fears of further chaos in Somalia, large swathes of which have returned to the control of an Islamic insurgency.
Wane said the peace and security council "has asked the (AU) Commission to remain in close contact with the Ethiopian authorities so that the withdrawal can be closely coordinated" with AU efforts to reinforce AMISOM.
Ethiopia sent in its troops in late 2006 to rescue the internationally-backed transitional government and prevent the emergence of an Islamic republic on its doorstep.
Under a UN-sponsored agreement signed in Djibouti, the AU mission in Somalia is to take over security responsibilities while joint units involving the government and the opposition prepare to become operational.
But Ethiopia said plans for the AU mission remained unclear.
"Currently, considerable confusion remains over the intentions of the AMISOM troop contributing countries," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Since Ethiopia said it was pulling out Islamist fighters have closed in on the capital Mogadishu after taking most of the country, leaving government and AU troops to control only a handful of locations.
Conflict in Somalia and power struggles that erupted since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have scuppered numerous initiatives to restore national stability.
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