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AU plea to plug Somali troop gaps Somalis 'filling' Ethiopian gaps
(about 5 hours later)
African Union officials in Somalia have told the BBC they will plug the gaps left by departing Ethiopian troops. African Union officials in Somalia have told the BBC pro-government forces in the capital Mogadishu are plugging gaps left by departing Ethiopian troops.
The plan comes as Uganda and Burundi - whose peacekeepers currently comprise the AU mission in Somalia - issued an urgent appeal for reinforcements. A BBC correspondent says pro-government forces face an array of insurgents which has so far proved stronger.
They also want their mandate beefed up so peacekeepers can use greater force when attacked by insurgents. African Union peacekeepers on Sunday said they may have no option but to leave unless their mandate is boosted and their troop numbers bolstered.
Uganda and Burundi gave the African Union (AU) a two-week deadline to act on their demand. Ethiopia's army began pulling its 3,000-strong force out last week.
Ethiopia's military began pulling its 3,000-strong force out of Somalia last week two years after it helped the transitional government oust Islamists from the capital Mogadishu. The withdrawal came two years after Ethiopia helped the transitional government oust Islamists from Mogadishu.
BBC Somali service correspondent Abdi Noor Mohammed says there are rumours the Ethiopians have been arming clan militias to take on the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab. 'Knife-edge'
He says the militias have managed to defeat the hardliners during several clashes in central Somalia and on the border with Ethiopia. BBC world affairs correspondent Mark Doyle says the move raises the prospect of a possible power vacuum in the capital, where there has not been a functioning central government since 1991.
'Very quickly'
After a meeting on Sunday in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, the Ugandan and Burundian defence ministers said the AU's force in Somalia (Amisom) needed more troops, as well as air force and marine units.
SOMALIA'S WOES 3m need food aid - a third of the population1m displacedGovernment only controls BaidoaIslamist groups control much of southern SomaliaNo effective government since 1991Piracy on the rise US fails to break Somali IslamistsNew year heralds new Somali fearsSOMALIA'S WOES 3m need food aid - a third of the population1m displacedGovernment only controls BaidoaIslamist groups control much of southern SomaliaNo effective government since 1991Piracy on the rise US fails to break Somali IslamistsNew year heralds new Somali fears
Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa have not yet met their pledges to send forces. A spokesman for the AU peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, Major Ba-Hoku Barigye, told the BBC a mixture of forces from the government and the Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia (ARS) were taking over some positions from the exiting Ethiopian army.
The ARS is made up partly of groups which used to fight the government, but which have now come to a deal with it.
Major Barigye said AU peacekeepers would not be directly taking up positions previously held by the Ethiopians because this could draw them into confrontation with the anti-government insurgents.
Earlier, another AU official had told the BBC their peacekeepers would take over some positions left by the Ethiopian military.
Our correspondent says the armed insurgents are a mixture of Islamists, nationalists and traditional Somali clans.
The situation in Mogadishu is now on a knife-edge, he adds.
The Islamist and nationalist insurgents have vowed to overthrow what remains of the government, whose president resigned last month.
Troop deadline
Meanwhile, the UN said more than 40 civilians were killed and some 50,000 displaced by fighting between rival Islamist militias in central Somalia last week.
There are rumours that the Ethiopians have been arming clan militias to take on the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab.
The insurgency has revived in a more extreme form
The militias have reportedly managed to defeat the radicals during several clashes in central Somalia and on the border with Ethiopia.
After a meeting on Sunday in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, the Ugandan and Burundian defence ministers said the AU's force in Somalia (Amisom) needed more troops, as well as air force and marine units and a stronger mandate.
They gave the AU two weeks to meet their conditions.
Burundi Defence Minister Gen Germain Niyoyankana said more troops were needed "very quickly" and added:Burundi Defence Minister Gen Germain Niyoyankana said more troops were needed "very quickly" and added:
"If our conditions are not met, it's normal that our troops will be withdrawn", reported AFP news agency."If our conditions are not met, it's normal that our troops will be withdrawn", reported AFP news agency.
Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa have not yet met their pledges to send forces.
The 3,600-strong Amisom force has faced frequent attack from Islamist insurgents in Mogadishu.The 3,600-strong Amisom force has faced frequent attack from Islamist insurgents in Mogadishu.
The departure of Ethiopian troops, who were in charge of Mogadishu and surrounding areas of the capital, will leave a dangerous power vacuum, says the BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu.
He says that AU officials plan for Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers to fill that void while their appeal for reinforcements is considered.
Ethiopia's departure follows an agreement with the Somali transitional government and the more moderate wing of the Islamist-led political opposition during UN-sponsored reconciliation talks in Djibouti.Ethiopia's departure follows an agreement with the Somali transitional government and the more moderate wing of the Islamist-led political opposition during UN-sponsored reconciliation talks in Djibouti.
Ethiopia was credited with saving Somalia's government from imminent collapse when it deployed its forces in late 2006. Government forces only control parts of Mogadishu and the town of Baidoa.
But analysts say the government has not used the time to strengthen its grip on power, while the insurgency has revived in a more extreme form. Large parts of the Somali capital are already flattened by artillery fire and 2008 saw roughly half the civilian population flee fighting.
Government forces only control parts of Mogadishu and the town of Baidoa. Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991.