Funding shortfall delays Ethiopian peacekeepers

Ethiopian peacekeepers are still awaiting deployment to strife-ridden Burundi, two months after they were supposed to arrive to help restore order.

The 1,297 strong peacekeeping force, which was due to arrive in June, has been held up because of a lack of cash, officials within the African Union (AU) told IRIN.

Burundi has been ravaged by civil war since 1993, pitting the government army against rebel groups. More than 200,000 people have been killed.

The AU estimates that the peacekeeping operation will cost US $186 million a year, but admits that backing from the international community has been poor.

“So far we don’t have much in the way of resources,” the official admitted. “Any delay in the mobilisation of resources could undermine the peace process.”

The AU outlined the mandate of its 3,500-strong peacekeeping force at the beginning of April which was due to be deployed in Burundi within 60 days. Some 1,200 peacekeepers are currently on the ground in the tiny central African country – mainly South Africans – working at the headquarters. But troops from Ethiopia and Mozambique have yet to be deployed.

“The bulk of the Ethiopian and Mozambique troops are not there due to funding problems,” a senior AU official working in conflict resolution said. “We are trying to sort it out but it is not easy because donors are not being as forthcoming as we would have wished.”

Officials at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa told IRIN they were now hoping the peacekeepers would be in place by September – but this would be dependent on finances.