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Burundi says EU's cut in AMISOM funding "unfair"

Xinhua, June 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Burundi has said the European Union's move to cut funding for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is "unfair".

Burundi contributes more than 5,000 troops to the 22,000-strong AMISOM, which has been helping the Somali government battle Al-Shabaab militants.

The EU in April announced it would cut by 20 percent its financial support to AMISOM due to "competing priorities in Africa and the world in general."

Burundi's External Relations and International Cooperation Minister, Alain Aime Nyamitwe, on Thursday said the funding cut was "unfair" and would destabilize AMISOM while the AU peacekeepers were fighting terrorism.

He said the move "does not encourage" troop-contributors.

"The fight against terrorism is a noble mission. The fight conducted by Burundi against terrorism in Somalia and in other countries is a contribution for peace globally," he added.

AMISOM, alongside the Somali army, has driven Al-Shabaab militants to rural areas in southern Somalia, but the Islamist group still stages periodic attacks in the country.

The latest Al-Shabaab attack killed more than 10 people in a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday. Endit