The African Union’s main security forum will hold a special session at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday to discuss a proposed peacekeeping force for Somalia, a statement said.
The Peace and Security Council meeting will include a debate on a new report into the situation in the volatile Horn of Africa state, which has been drawn up by an AU mission in the wake of the recent ouster of a hard-line Islamist movement from the capital, Mogadishu.
The Islamists fled when Ethiopian troops linked up with forces from the weak transitional government late last month and marched on the capital.
The transitional government, previously confined to the provincial town of Baidoa, has now taken up residence in Mogadishu where it is struggling to assert its authority.
Ethiopia says it wants to withdraw its forces, but its efforts alongside Kenya’s to persuade nations to contribute to a stabilisation force have met little success, with Uganda the only country to have so far offered troops.
South Africa, one of the countries that has been asked to contribute, has expressed doubt whether the AU can sustain the burden of another peacekeeping mission on top of ongoing commitments in countries such as Sudan.
Somalia has been without an effective central authority since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre presaged an incessant round of clashes between rival warlords. — Sapa-AFP