Nigeria still assessing Somalia troop contribution | Top

News | Reuters

LAGOS (Reuters) - The situation in Somalia has deteriorated since Nigeria first agreed to send
peacekeepers and the West African nation is still assessing when to deploy them, its defence
minister was quoted as saying on Friday.

Many countries have been reluctant to send troops to bolster the African Union peacekeeping force,
AMISOM, in the Horn of Africa nation, where two years of fighting have killed more than 16,000
civilians and driven a million from their homes.

"When Nigeria committed herself to sending troops in 2006 or thereabout, it was for peacekeeping,
because the situation then could be handled," Nigerian Defence Minister Shettima Mustapha was
quoted as saying by the vanguard newspaper .

"But over the years, the situation has changed ... What we have are various groups controlling
several areas. It means you will fight to enforce peace there. So if you go there, you will be fighting

several groups," he said.

A Defence Ministry spokesman confirmed the remarks.

The election of Somalia's first Islamist president last month has raised hopes that the nation might
finally emerge from 18 years of violence.

But hardline Islamists have declared war on the new government and attack the peacekeepers
regularly. Burundian troops in the capital came under fire from insurgents on Friday.

The Nigerian military said in August a battalion of 850 officers and soldiers hoped to leave within
weeks. But the deployment has been repeatedly delayed.

Nicolas Bwakira, the AU special representative for Somalia, said this month that AMISOM -- which
has about 3,500 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi -- needed to be reinforced fast. Continued...
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