Military mission to Somalia

EU personnel to train Somali security forces.

The European Union is on the brink of launching a new military mission, to train around 2,000 Somali security forces in Uganda. A decision is expected from member states in the coming weeks, and the EU Training Mission (EUTM) could start as soon as 1 May.

Around 150 military personnel – with between 20-30 planners and trainers each from France, Spain, Germany and Italy – will provide training in urban warfare and the search for improvised explosive devices to recruits on the side of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, which is resisting Islamist insurgents.

A mission of this sort was proposed almost a year ago by France, which has already trained Somali forces in Djibouti. But planning was held up by member state concerns – including over the risks of trainees deserting to better-paying militias, misappropriation of funds, or human rights abuses by trained soldiers.

Concerned aid workers

Since January, when member states' foreign ministers approved the mission's broad outlines, details have been refined on vetting of trainees, monitoring and mentoring of soldiers once they return to Somalia, and the funding and payment of salaries. But aid agencies with headquarters in the EU have expressed anxiety that their staff could become a target for insurgent attacks once the EU starts training government troop