Jimma Times, 17 July 2008= The Nigeria Military sent an assessment team to Mogadishu and it is expected to deploy its troops soon as a part of African Union (AU) force known as AMISOM.

According to the AMISOM spokesman Major Baringye Ba-Hoku, the Nigerian force is making final preparations this week and they will join the 1,600 Uganda and 600 Burundi troops already in Mogadishu . However, AU has so far failed to send the 8,000 peacekeeping troops it planned last year for AMISOM, to assist the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and its Ethiopian ally.

The spokesman showed confidence that more African nations will contribute troops to help stabilize Somalia , but Somalis contacted by Jimma Yeroo said some anti-government forces in Mogadishu will attack any foreign troops. This likelihood of more violence and the lack of finance for the AU force have been some of the reasons why more African nations did not contribute troops. The other big problem has been lack of political reconciliation between fighting sides in Mogadishu .

Earlier this month in Djibouti , the United Nations (UN) organized a successful conference between the TFG and some members of the anti-government opposition groups from Eritrea . However, the peace deal between the two sides is rejected by another Somali opposition group inside Eritrea and the deal did not reduce the violence since the anti-government gunmen in Somalia usually function separately from the opposition leadership in Eritrea .

This week one Somali civilian was killed and fourteen more Somalis were wounded by anti-government Islamist gunmen who bombed two Cinemas in Baidoa and Mogadishu cities of Somalia . Before the TFG Somali troops and Ethiopian troops attacked the Islamist gunmen 18 months ago, the "Al Shabaab" Islamists forcefully shut down all Cinemas after declaring Football and films as un-Islamic.

Meanwhile, Somali pirates have kidnapped four European citizens, including one child, near the Gulf of Aden earlier on Monday. Despite the recent peace deal, some parts of southern and central Somalia suffer under growing violence.

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