Burundi begins process of withdrawing its troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia

   Burundi has began the process of withdrawing its troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia due to a dispute with the EU over the payment of wages.

   According to reports, African Union Mission in Somalia salaries are paid by the EU but have not been received in Bujumbura for months as European diplomats seek to avoid sending money directly to a government against which the bloc imposed sanctions in response to a nearly two-year-long political crisis.
   The EU wants to pay the salaries, worth 5 million euros per month, directly to the troops. But with no agreement yet made President Pierre Nkurunziza has instructed his foreign and defence ministers to begin the process of withdrawing Burundi’s 5,400 soldiers, roughly one quarter of the African Union Mission in Somalia .
    The African Union, which is due to hold its next summit in Addis Ababa at the end of January, in November condemned the EU decision to suspend payment of Burundian soldiers’ wages, warning of a potentially negative impact on the security situation in Somalia.