Second Batch of Burundian Soldiers leaves Somalia

In Somalia, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is continuing its withdrawal plan.

Last December, the African Union asked the Burundian authorities to withdraw a thousand soldiers from its contingent in Somalia.

In Gitega, the new administrative capital of Burundi, the Government continues to protest but in the meantime, 171 Burundian soldiers left Somalia, Saturday, February 23, RFI reports

This is the second time this week that a contingent of Burundian soldiers is leaving Somalia.

They are now nearly 400 to have joined Burundi on the expected 1,000, by February 28.

As a result of this downsizing, Burundian troops authorized to continue operations in Somali territory must surrender some of their positions to the Somali military.

Burundian authorities continue to express their reluctance. In a letter dated 20 February, the Burundi Embassy in Addis Ababa calls on the African Union Peace and Security Department.

It described this redeployment as “dangerous” and said it feared the dispersion of the Burundian contingent which – the text continues – would make it very vulnerable.

According to the experts, the Burundian military presence in Somalia is a return of foreign currency for the Burundian regime accused of diverting the balances of its military to bail out its coffers.

The standoff between the country and the AU is not over yet, but AMISOM does not falter.

In accordance with the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council in July, new repatriations of soldiers to their countries of origin are scheduled for Sunday, February 24, Monday and Tuesday.