Burundi government could withdraw its troops from the African Union (AU) force fighting militants in Somalia following non-payment of troops.
The country’s Defence Minister, Emmanuel Ntahomvukiye told parliament that the soldiers had not received their monthly allowance which is supposed to be paid by the European Union (EU).
According to him, the $800 (£640) allowance was in arrears for 10 months. Over that period, soldiers are only receiving their low army wages.
The EU’s decision to cut off its funding for the troops is tied to the ongoing political crisis in the country.
This notice is likely to affect the mission in Somalia since Burundi is the second largest contributor to AMISOM, the AU intervention force fighting extremist group al-Shabaab. Their over 5400 troops come behind Uganda who have over 6000 troops.
Somalia is in the process of conducting its elections and the issue of security is high on the agenda.
Ethiopia recently withdrew its troops from Somalia which led to retaking of towns by al-Shabaab. The Ethiopian government has denied its withdrawal of troops is linked to internal anti-government crisis a statement contradicted by an al-Shabaab leader who claims the recents protests informed the move.
AMISOM troop contributing countries include Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. Police contributing countries also include Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
