Burundi team lands in Mogadishu ahead of deployment

[Jacaylbaro]

MOGADISHU, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Military officials from Burundi were in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday to prepare the long-awaited deployment of peacekeepers.

 

About 1,600 Ugandan soldiers have been in the city since March as the vanguard of a planned 8,000-strong African Union (AU) forces. No other countries have sent troops yet.

 

"A team of Burundians arrived in Mogadishu on Monday for a reconnaissance mission," said Captain Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the AU force. "They came to inspect bases for their troops. We expect them (to deploy) as early as September."

 

Ankunda said the 10-man Burundian team had promised to send two brigades of 860 soldiers each. Burundi had earlier said its troops would deploy in the Somali capital in July.

 

Without support, the Ugandans have been restricted to guarding Mogadishu's sea and air ports and presidential palace, as well as providing security for top government officials.

 

The peacekeepers have been the victims of a persistent, Islamist-led insurgency that has targeted government troops and their Ethiopian military allies, mostly with roadside bombs.

 

Police and residents said at least three civilians were killed in a grenade attack and shooting in the city's sprawling Bakara Market on Tuesday, while a police spokesman said three insurgents were also killed late on Monday in a gun battle. (Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh)