KAMPALA (Reuters) - The African Union said on Friday that Guinea would send a battalion of troops to join a peacekeeping force in Somalia, the first pledge of action at an African summit to be dominated by the Somali crisis.
Somalia has shot to the top of the agenda at the AU summit in Uganda, to be attended by more than 30 heads of state, less than two weeks after Somali rebels launched their first attack on foreign soil with twin bomb attacks in the capital Kampala.
"We have today a full commitment with Guinea for a battalion," AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping told reporters. "Guinea is ready to immediately send troops".
East African regional bloc IGAD last month pledged to send another 2,000 troops to join more than 6,000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi in Mogadishu. IGAD has not yet announced which countries will contribute peacekeepers.
Reuters Africa
