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         Thousands of African Union Soldiers Killed in Somalia, UN Says

   by VOA News

   A top U.N. official says up to 3,000 African Union soldiers have been
   killed in Somalia over the past few years fighting the Islamist
   insurgency. U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson gave the death
   toll at a news conference Thursday at U.N. headquarters.
   Eliasson said Uganda and Burundi, which supplied most of the troops for
   the AU force, "have paid a tremendous price."
   AU troops working with Somali and Ethiopian forces have forced militant
   group al-Shabab out of the southern Somali towns and cities they once
   controlled.  Eliasson said the al-Shabab threat has receded but still
   exists and said the AU force, known as AMISOM, still "plays an
   absolutely crucial role" in Somalia.
   AU soldiers arrived in Somalia in 2007 and were involved in heavy
   fighting with al-Shabab in Mogadishu for several years.
   The capital is largely calm these days, although al-Shabab still
   carries out periodic attacks like a suicide bombing last Sunday that
   killed eight people.
   The East African nation is attempting to emerge from more than 20 years
   of chaos and war under a new government formed last year.  Donor
   nations pledged $300 million for security in Somalia at a conference in
   London this week.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/un-says-thousands-of-au-soldiers-kill
   ed-in-somalia/1658399.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-says-thousands-of-au-soldiers-killed-in-somalia/1658399.html