The European Union has given the go-ahead for a military mission in Somalia, which reportedly aims to train Somali forces against local fighters.
The training mission known as 'EUTM' is led by Spain and involves around 100 troops plus several dozen additional staff. Germany and France have already committed troops to the mission and Britain is expected to participate.
The EUTM is expected to train around 2,000 Somali troops in coordination with international partners, in particular the United Nations, the African Union Mission in Somalia and the United States.
It is to start operation on April 7, mainly in Uganda, where some Somali forces are already stationed.
The goal of the mission is to strengthen Somalia's transitional government. However some members of the 27-nation bloc believe that without a long-term financial and political commitment, training Somali troops and providing them with guns could cause more problems than it will solve.
Somalia has had no effective government for 19 years. At least 21,000 Somalis have been killed since the start of 2007 due to ongoing violence and political conflicts in the country, 1.5 million have been uprooted from their homes, and nearly half a million are refugees in other countries in the region.
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