UNSC votes to add AU troops in Somalia-PressTV

Fri Feb 24, 2012 9:21AM GMT

Abdulaziz Billow Ali, Press TV, Mogadishu

On Wednesday all the fifteen UN Security Council delegates in New York voted to add more than five thousand troops to the African Union force in Somalia that will see the A.U. troop force tally reach nearly eighteen thousand. Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti currently make up the African Union Mission to Somalia AMISOM.

The AU forces was also approved of marine and air capabilities that will assist them in the fight against the Al Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab fighters who were until recently only a militia group.

The Somali government forces with the backing of the Ethiopian troops have also taken control of newer areas in South Somalia with the latest being Baidoa town, a key Al-Shabaab stronghold. Before the capture of the town days earlier hundreds of newly trained Al-Shabaab fighters were paraded there in a show of might by the Al-Shabaab leaders.

However Somali leaders say that the offensives will go on and other areas will be liberated in the coming days.

However the AU Mission to Somalia are set to expand their mission and will take all the areas under the Ethiopian forces control since Ethiopia is not part of AMISOM. The Head of AMISOM in Mogadishu, however argues that with the latest successes, the whole of Somalia will be fully liberated from the Al-Shabaab fighters who are fighting the Somali Transitional Federal Government for more than five years now.

AMISOM troops in Mogadishu have also expanded their area of coverage and are planning on taking control of Afgooye corridor northwest of the war torn Mogadishu, is home to about 400,000 internally displaced persons.

The latest fighting in Mogadishu has led to massive displacement and has forced many Somalis to seek secure grounds as the Somali forces and AU troops venture on pursuing the Al-Shabaab in their strongholds.PressTV - UNSC votes to add AU troops in Somalia:

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