POSSIBLE BURUNDIAN DEPLOYMENT TO SOMALIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000244 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF AND PM; ADDIS FOR AU MISSION E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2017 TAGS: MARR PARM PREL BY SO SUBJECT: POSSIBLE BURUNDIAN DEPLOYMENT TO SOMALIA REF: A. BUJUMBURA 215 ¶B. BUJUMBURA 206 ¶C. A/S FRAZER EMAIL 3-31-07 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Ann Breiter for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (U) Action Request Para 4. ¶2. (U) Burundi is prepared to send troops expeditiously to Somalia in support of the African Union mission there (AMISOM),but it recognizes it cannot do so without substantial support. Burundi's minister of Defense, Germain Niyonyankana, estimates that his ministry could contribute approximately 2,000 of its armed forces to AMISOM. Burundi has already provided potential donors an extensive list of its needs it order to deploy (Ref A.) The Minister of Defense has made clear that his country is counting on its partners, particularly the United States, to ensure that it receives the materials it needs in order to do so. ¶3. (C) Thus far, to our knowledge, the only concrete offer of support has come from France, which has agreed to provide training for the troops before they travel to Somalia. Local representatives of other western donor nations, including Belgium and the Netherlands, have indicated that, given the extent of Burundi's needs, their capitals are unlikely to support tangibly the Burundian request. A Dutch military officer working on a medium term contract with the Ministry of Defense told Charge on March 31 that Burundi's lengthy list of requests -- over 20 pages long -- in fact is very modest when compared to the Ministry's current circumstances. He suggested that the list might be overly optimistic and might not reflect the country's true needs for a successful deployment. ¶4. (U) Action Request: U.S. military planners could assist Burundi's Ministry of Defense in assessing the viability of a deployment with AMISOM and in preparing a realistic deployment plan. We urge the Department to work with the Department of Defense to investigate the possibility of sending a planning mission to Burundi as soon as possible. BREITER