By ELIAS MESERETJanuary 27, 2018 GMT
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The African Union mission in Somalia’s planned withdrawal of 21,000 troops from the extremist-threatened Horn of Africa nation by 2020 cannot be met without urgent help from the international community, the mission’s chief said Saturday.
In an interview, Francisco Madeira told The Associated Press he fears all gains made in the past decade could be lost in an abrupt departure.
Speaking on the sidelines of an African Union summit, he said the world must “fast-track” to meet the 2020 goal of handing over security responsibilities to Somalia’s military. “The U.N. and other partners must understand that this enterprise needs additional resources,” he said.