Nairobi (dpa) – The African Union (AU) wants to boost its peacekeeping force in Somalia from the mandated 12,000 troops to more than 17,700, the bloc said in a communique issued Friday. The peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, has backed the weak central government since early 2007, and this year made major gains against Islamist insurgent group al-Shabaab. However, commanders have long requested more soldiers, and AU leaders meeting at the bloc's headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday called on the United Nations to approve its plans immediately. The AU plan calls for 5,700 troops from Djibouti and authorizes Kenyan forces, which entered southern Somalia independently in October after a spate of kidnappings it blamed on al-Shabaab, to be re-designated as AU peacekeepers. The force's mandate was also extended for another year at the meeting. AMISOM is still short of its mandated 12,000 troops, although Djibouti has begun sending in soldiers to back the Ugandan and Burundian soldiers who have until now shouldered the burden of fighting al-Shabaab. The force has more than 9,000 troops at present in Somalia. Al-Shabaab began its insurgency in early 2007 following Ethiopia's invasion to oust an Islamist regime. AMISOM, working with the Somali government, has forced al-Shabaab out of the capital Mogadishu, although the insurgents still control much of southern and central Somalia. However, Kenyan soldiers, pro-government forces, and Ethiopian troops are fighting the insurgents on multiple fronts, pushing deeper toward their coastal stronghold of Kismayo. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/jEgp8 Tags: African Union, Somalia, Troops Section: East Africa, Latest News
