Somali President Meets With His Burundian Counterpart

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed arrived in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura today Monday for an official visit.

Somalia’s presidency said Farmajo held talks on the bilateral relations with his counterpart President Pierre Nkurunziza in Bujumbura.

Farmajo’s trip comes at a time Burundi is protesting a directive by the African Union’s Peace Support Operations Division that the withdrawal of a further 1,000 troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) come exclusively from the Burundian contingent in Johwar, Hirshabelle State, also known as Sector 5.

Last year, Burundi army spokesman Biyereke Floribert argued that the decision to withdraw Burundian troops did not conform with the co-ordination committee of operations in Somalia which states that “the troops will be withdrawn from all the peacekeeping contributing countries. The Burundian army demands a competent authority to ensure that this decision is reconsidered.”

The Burundi contingent is the second largest within AMISOM with about 5,000troops.