Somalia to be among top agenda at AU summit in Ethiopia.

(Addis Ababa, January 20, 2008 Ceegaag Online)  

The Somalia issue will be on the top agenda of the African Union (AU) summit due to be held at the end of this month in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, AU sources say here Saturday.

Ambassador Said Djinit, theAU Peace and Security Council commissioner (PSC) told journalists that African leaders attending the upcoming summit will give ample time to discuss the Somalia issue, which still remains a challenge for the commission.

“That is why the PSC held an urgent meeting on Somalia before the summit. The report presented to the PSC by the chairperson will also be presented to the summit where the leaders will discuss it in detail,” Djinit said.

The absence of adequate troops for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and finance are among the challenges facing the commission to play its role in bringing peace and stability in that country, which remains without an effective central government since the past 16 years.

The AU is still urging its member states to contribute troops for AMISOM, which is expected to be replaced by UN peacekeeping operations.

Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi and Burundi pledged last year to send their troops to Somalia. However, it is only around 1,600 Ugandan troops that are on the ground in Somalia along with 192 advanced troops from Burundi.

Other countries that pledged to send troops are still unable to send their troops due to financial and political reasons.

According to the chairman of the AU Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare’s report to the AU PSC, the total annual budget for AMISOM is estimated at about $ 622 million.

“So far, a little over $32 million have been contributed, originating exclusively from AU partners, namely the European Union, Italy, Sweden, China, the Arab league and the United Kingdom,” Konare said in his report.

Source : APA News

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