Tuesday June 7, 2022
On a visit to the Great Lakes region, Ambassador Bankole
Adeoye, who is the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security at
the African Union, paid tribute to Burundian soldiers who died while on service
in Somalia.
In the company of former Burundian President Domitien
Ndayizeye, who is now a member of the AU advisory panel, he laid a wreath of
flowers on one of the graves AU peace battalion, in recognition of Burundi's
contribution to this mission.
"We seize this opportunity once again to pay tribute to
all the men who have fallen on the battlefield in the search for peace on the
continent," said Ambassador Bankole.
At the same time, we take this opportunity to pay tribute to
those Burundians who have recently lost in Somalia in the search for peace.
This tribute comes a few weeks after the death of several
Burundian soldiers in a terrorist attack on El Baraaf, a base of the AU
Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). The attack left ten soldiers dead, 25
wounded and 50 terrorists killed according to official sources.
The families of the victims are now deploring compensation
which they claim has been delayed. Burundian Minister of National Defense,
Alain-Tribert Mutabazi has reassured them of timely payment.
"We would like and hope that this compensation or this
indemnity does not delay to come or to be paid on the accounts of the entitled
persons," said Alain-Tribert Mutabazi, Burundian Minister of National
Defense.
With nearly 5,000 men, Burundi is the second largest
contributor of troops to ATMIS, which has nearly 20,000 military, police and
civilian personnel from five African countries. ATMIS formally replaced the
African peacekeeping force in Somalia (Amisom) with a mandate extended in late
March by the United Nations Security Council until the end of 2024 to stabilize
the country in the face of the insurgency by the terrorist movement al-Shabab.
Additional sources • Francine Sinarinzi