Ethiopia Excluded from New AU Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia

A senior Somali official confirmed on Saturday that Ethiopia will not be part of the new African Union peacekeeping mission starting in January. Voice Of America says, the exclusion follows a deadlock over a Memorandum of Understanding Ethiopia signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland earlier this year. Since 2007, African Union troops have operated in Somalia, first under AMISOM and then ATMIS, which will end its mandate this year.