U.S. ready to fund fast AU force for Somalia.. no conditions..

[General Duke]

INTERVIEW-U.S. ready to fund fast AU force for Somalia

 

By Mark John

 

BRUSSELS, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The United States is ready to offer more funds to help African Union troops deploy quickly to Somalia as Ethiopian forces wind down their presence there, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

 

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary on Africa James Swan called on other international bodies to provide urgent financial and logistical support to the AU as it struggles to raise a force of about 8,000 peacekeepers for the Horn of Africa country.

 

Swan said he had no information on a Washington Post report of a second U.S. strike against suspected al Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia on Monday and said U.S. policy was to support AU-led efforts to guarantee security.

 

"We are eager to see a rapid movement to deployment of the AU peace support operation," Swan said in an interview in Brussels with Reuters and a European weekly magazine after talks with EU officials on the conflict.

 

"To that end we have identified funding that could be made available to fund (air) lift and equipment initially for the Ugandans but that could also be available to other troop contributors later," he added.

 

Such funding would be in addition to the $14 million already earmarked by the United States for the AU force in a wider $40.5 million package announced earlier this month.

 

Somali government and Ethiopian troops defeated Islamist forces last month, but the Islamists have vowed to hit back and have attacked government and Ethiopian troops in the capital Mogadishu.

 

With troop commitments only beginning to come in from AU countries, there are concerns the AU will not be ready to fully replace an Ethiopian force which started withdrawing from Mogadishu this week.

 

Swan said Ethiopia was aware of the importance of not leaving a security vacuum by withdrawing too quickly.

 

"Based on frequent consultations with the Ethiopians we think they are acutely aware of the balance between limiting the amount of time they remain in Somalia ... but also the need to continue to provide security at least on an interim basis."

 

EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said this week further EU aid for the AU force would depend on its interim government reaching out to moderate Islamists and others in the quest for peace, a condition which angered some Somali officials.

 

While Swan said Washington sought to encourage "inclusiveness" in reaching a political solution to the conflict, he did not make it a condition for U.S. help.

 

"We would also hope that not only ourselves but that also other partners would provide additional assistance to the AU as it may request it," he said.