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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Kenya will send troops to the strife-torn Somalia, Ethiopia Foreign Minister Seyum Mesfin said here at the conclusion of a ministerial meeting of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Mesfin, who is chaired the meeting, told journalists that Kenya will send one battalion consisting of about 800 soldiers to Mogadishu.
Kenya is one of the six member states of IGAD. The others are Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia and Uganda. It will be the third country to send its troops to Somalia, joining Uganda and Burundi.
Currently, around 3,300 Ugandan and Burundi troops are in Somalia supporting the transition government of Somalia.
The troops come under the African Union mission in Somalia.
The African Union has called on member states to contribute troops for its mission in Somalia. It plans to send around 8,000 peacekeeping forces.
Source: APA, Nov 19, 2008