France evacuates wounded AU peacekeepers in Somalia

France said Wednesday it has evacuated African Union peacekeepers in troubled Somalia to receive treatment in Djibouti as fighting between militants and transitional government forces intensify.

A statement from the French Embassy in Nairobi said the military aircraft on Monday night evacuated 13 Burundian and Ugandan soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to Djibouti so that they could receive emergency medical care.

"This is a way for France to concretely express its commitment to the African Union and to all those who work for peace and stability in Somalia. France hails the courage and determination of AMISOM soldiers in the face of unacceptable attacks," the statement said.

The Ethiopian soldiers and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa, a militia allied to the TFG, are also reported to have attacked Al-Shabaab fighters in Beledweyne in central Somalia, and in the town of Bulla Hawo close to Somalia's border with Kenya and Ethiopia.

According to the UNHCR, some 300 Somalis fleeing the fighting have crossed the border into Kenya over the past few days.

Paris said some of these soldiers, who were wounded in combat in the past days in the Somali capital Mogadishu, will be treated at the Bouffard hospital in Djibouti.

"France also expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the Burundian and Ugandan soldiers who died in recent days," the statement said.

Somalia, which has not had a functioning central government since 1991, has been torn apart by decades of conflict and factional strife, more recently plagued with the insurgency of Al- Shabaab Islamic militants.

The Horn of Africa country is also facing a dire humanitarian crisis in which 2.4 million people are in need of assistance.

Source: Xinhua