Addis Ababa, Sudan - Experts have called for the acceleration of deployment of additional troops pledged by Burundi, Uganda, Djibouti, Republic of Guinea and Sierra Leone to enable the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to quickly reach the strength of 12,000 troops, a statement issued by the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said on Friday.

A technical workshop on AMISCO held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stressed that in order to enable AMISOM to proceed with the implementation of the next phase of its mandate, and without prejudice to the decisions that may be taken by the policy organs concerned, it was necessary to accelerate the deployment of the additional troops.

The statement obtained in Khartoum said the workshop sought to identify concrete steps that needed to be taken in the coming months in order to provide AMISOM with troops commensurate with the challenges at hand in Somalia.

The statement noted that the workshop was also held at a time when Somalia was witnessing its worst drought in recent memory, with the resulting famine affecting over one-third of its total population.

During the workshop, AMISOM indicated that its efforts in the coming months would focus on securing Mogadishu and its surrounding areas so as to create further space for reconciliation efforts and facilitate relocation and movement of international civilian staff.

The experts urged AU Member States and partners “to expeditiously provide the requisite support, including equipment and training, to facilitate the early deployment of the remaining 3,000 troops'.

The workshop also recommended the enhancement of the support package provided by the United Nations to take into account the shortcomings identified over the past few months and the fact that AMISOM is a Multidimensional Mission with military, police and civilian components.

The experts called for insertion of Formed Police Units (FPUs) in Mogadishu to bolster the maintenance of law and order in the city so as to make it possible to free the military for operations on the ground.

Pana 20/08/2011