{Sierra Leone is withdrawing troops from the African Union\u2019s peacekeeping mission in Somalia as the Ebola outbreak at home prevents it from sending replacements. } <\/p>\n
A total of 850 soldiers departing after a 20-month tour of duty won\u2019t be replaced, in a step to prevent any spread of the virus, Elio Yao, a spokesman for the African Union Mission in Somalia, or Amisom, said today by phone from the Somali capital, Mogadishu. <\/p>\n
Sierra Leone is the country with the most reported cases in West Africa\u2019s yearlong Ebola outbreak, in which about 19,000 people have been affected and more than 7,300 have died, according to the World Health Organization. <\/p>\n
\u201cUsually our troops rotate on a yearly basis so that there can be a break,\u201d Yao said. \u201cThe African Union is finding a way to fill in the gap\u201d left by the soldiers\u2019 departure, he said. A statement on Amisom\u2019s website said Sierra Leone would be replaced by other troop-contributing countries until Ebola has been \u201cfully contained.\u201d <\/p>\n
The African Union has about 22,000 security personnel in Somalia trying to rein in al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked militant group that seeks to topple the country\u2019s government and impose Islamic law. <\/p>\n
Sierra Leone\u2019s troops were based in Somalia\u2019s Lower Juba region, including the port city of Kismayo, according to Yao.<\/p>\n
Bloomberg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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