ADDIS ABABA, March 24 (Reuters) - Uganda has sent a third battalion of troops to Somalia to beef up the African Union peacekeeping force in the Horn of Africa nation.
The AU said in a statement after a meeting in Ethiopia on Monday that Algeria had helped the battalion deploy and that it wanted to get the force up to 8,000 as originally planned.
The peacekeeping force consists of troops from Uganda and Burundi and stood at about 3,500 before the latest deployment. A Ugandan battalion usually consists of some 800 soldiers. Burundi has also said it plans to send a third battalion.
News of the deployment is likely to enrage hardline al Shabaab Islamist insurgents who have launched deadly mortar and suicide attacks against the African troops this year, killing 11 in the deadliest strike.
Analysts say the insurgents are preparing to step up attacks on the peacekeepers and the new government of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the country's first Islamist president...more..http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LO695903.htm
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