Somali peace mission in two weeks

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Uganda will start deploying its soldiers in Somalia within the next two weeks, officials say.

Uganda is sending 1,500 soldiers to serve in the African Union mission which will replace Ethiopian troops.

The United Nations Security Council has sanctioned an 8,000 strong AU force for Somalia but only half that number has been pledged so far.

The government blames insurgents backed by the defeated Islamists for a sharp rise in attacks in the past week.

Nigeria, Ghana, Burundi and Malawi are the other countries that have promised to contribute forces for the AU mission.

Uganda's defence minister, Chrispus Kiyonga, and military chief Aronda Nyakairima met interim government officials on Thursday in the Somali city of Baidoa to finalise plans and discuss where the troops will be deployed.

"Our troops will train the Somali transitional government's national army, provide the security at its headquarters and key installations as well support the peace process" said Mr Kiyonga.

Somalia's Fisheries Minister Hassan Abshir Farah said details of the mission are still being worked out and a deployment date will soon be announced.

Violence has again been spiralling out of control in Mogadishu

Nigeria has said its 850 troops will be deployed by the middle of April in three phases.

Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf has told the BBC the Ethiopian forces will move back across the border as soon as AU troops arrive.

Some Islamists vowed to start a guerrilla war after they were driven out of the capital in December, and attacks since then have targeted Ethiopian forces, whose presence is resented by many Somalis.

After 16 years without an effective government, Mogadishu is awash with weapons.

An insurgent group calling itself the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of Two Migrations has warned AU troops in a statement posted on a website associated with the ousted Islamists.

"We promise we shall welcome them with bullets from heavy guns, exploding cars and young men are eager to carry out suicide attacks against these colonial forces" the message said.

Somalia's interim president, Abdullahi Yusuf, says he will hold a national reconciliation conference as a step towards ending the continuing violence in the country.

President Yusuf said there would be no talks with armed groups but he said he sought dialogue with moderate members of the Union of Islamic Courts - a key demand for the AU mission to receive funding from the west.