Somalia: Djibouti peacekeepers arrive in Mogadishu to join AMISOM 21 Dec 21, 2011 - 7:40:24 PM
MOGADISHU, Somalia Dec 21 2011(Garowe Online) - Over 200 hundred troops from Djibouti have landed in Mogadishu to join the African Union’s AMISOM peacekeepers, Radio Garowe reports.
The military plane carrying the soldiers from Djibouti landed in Adan Adde International Airport in Mogadishu at 2 pm Tuesday.
As the 200 hundred strong soldiers exited the plane carrying their M-16s in hand instead of being taken to AMISOM headquarters the troops were delayed for hours, according to local sources.
After the confusion was solved they were taken to the AMISOM headquarters.
Djibouti is the third African country to send troops to work with AMISOM soldiers, recently Kenyan troops deployed in southern Somalia are expected to join AMISOM.
Although much of Mogadishu is controlled by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and AMISOM peacekeepers, the threat of Al Shabaab attacks is constant creating a need for a collective effort from Somalia’s neighbours.
The President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh spoke on Djibouti troops being sent to Somalia stating we are ready to help Somalia in any way can.
Currently, there are over 9,000 AMISOM troops stationed in Mogadishu made up of Ugandan and Burundian soldiers.
