Burundi now is threatening to withdrawal all its 5432 troops from Somalia after African Union asked the country to withdrawal 1,000 of its soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Burundi lawmakers have backed the government’s threat to withdraw all of the country’s troops serving in the African union peacekeeping forces in Somalia claiming that the reduced number in their contingent would endanger the remaining soldiers.
African Union has plan to gradually remove its peacekeeping force in Somalia and have Somali National Army (SNA) take over the country’s security.
Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza had on Tuesday 19, February 2019 called for the African Union as a matter of urgency to convene a meeting of the countries contributing troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to review the decision to withdraw its troops.
Burundi is not pleased by the planned drawdown that will see a further 1,000 soldiers from its contingent being pulled out from Somalia.
Last December, the African Union’s Peace Support Operations Division directed that the planned drawdown of a further 1,000 soldiers come exclusively from the Burundian contingent though they had proposed to pull out 341 soldiers.
Burundian lawmakers are arguing that a smaller contingent covering the same regions that they have assigners would be ineffective and further would endanger their remaining troops.
Burundian forces are in charge of Sector 5 which covers the Middle Shabelle region.
Burundi is the second-largest contributor of troops after Uganda, which has 6,200 soldiers in the mission, according to AMISOM and receives $18 million from the AU quarterly, as compensation for the soldiers.
Other troops contributing countries in Somalia include Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda and Kenya.
