French police hunt suspected killer of Muslim worshipper inside mosque

NAIROBI: The African peacekeeping mission in Somalia requires an additional 8,000 troops, even as Burundi is expected to withdraw its contingent, a statement from military heads from troop-contributing countries said.

The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM, is tasked with combating the Al-Shabab group, whose attacks are stoking fears of a terrorist resurgence in the Horn of Africa nation.
But Burundi’s planned pullout, which diplomatic sources said was triggered by a spat with Mogadishu over the state of its soldiers’ equipment, would deprive the mission of around one-fifth of its current manpower.

Envoys from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, the African Union, and multilateral organizations held a three-day meeting in Uganda this week to discuss the security situation in Somalia and the progress of AUSSOM.
In a statement, the officials said insufficient troops had created security gaps “resulting in the resurgence of Al-Shabab taking control of significant territory in both Middle and Lower Shabelle.”
“As a consequence, both Jowhar and Mogadishu are under imminent threat by Al-Shabab,” the statement said.
Somalia has long struggled with the violent Islamist insurgency.
However, the Al-Qaeda-linked group had been forced onto the defensive in 2022 and 2023 by Somali forces backed by African Union-led peacekeepers.
Recent attacks in key towns have provoked worries of the organization’s resurgence, with the militants targeting President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy in the capital, Mogadishu, in March.
The security representatives recommended “an additional 8,000 to AUSSOM Troops to address the current security situation in Somalia so as not to roll back the hard-earned gains.”
The mission, which replaced the previous ATMIS deployment, has 11,146 soldiers.
But the withdrawal of Burundi troops with no prospect of replacement “will create more gaps and exacerbate the already deteriorating situation,” the statement added.
Somalia and Burundi have been at loggerheads over the number of troops Burundi should contribute to the mission, with Mogadishu requesting only around 1,000 Burundian soldiers — far below Burundi’s proposal of 2,000.
According to an African diplomat, Somalia “felt that Burundi was not sufficiently equipped for such a large number of soldiers.”
“Our government saw the Somali proposal as a lack of consideration, a lack of respect when you consider the sacrifices Burundi has made to bring peace back to Somalia,” a senior Burundian official said.
A statement by the AU dated April 15 instructed the UN office in Somalia to facilitate the repatriation of Burundi’s contingent.
The envoys also addressed the mission’s significant financial challenges, urging international partners to address the deficit of $96 million for ATMIS and $60 million to cover four months of AUSSOM — which has been in operation since January.

KYIV: US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Zelensky said the meeting could prove historic if it delivers the kind of peace he is hoping for, and a White House spokesman called it “very productive.”
The two leaders, leaning in close to each other with no aides around them while seated in St. Peter’s Basilica, spoke for about 15 minutes.
The meeting at the Vatican, their first since an angry encounter in the Oval Office in Washington in February, comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to fighting between Ukraine and Russia.

After leaving Rome, Trump published a social media post in which he took a tough tone on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump posted on Truth Social. Twelve people were killed on Thursday when a missile fired by Russia hit a Kyiv apartment block.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s post was a departure from his usual rhetoric, which has seen the toughest criticism directed at Zelensky, while he has spoken positively about Putin.
In a post on social media platform Telegram, Zelensky wrote: “Good meeting. One-on-one, we managed to discuss a lot. We hope for a result from all the things that were spoken about.”
He said those topics included: “The protection of the lives of our people. A complete and unconditional ceasefire. A reliable and lasting peace that will prevent a recurrence of war.”
Zelensky added: “It was a very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic if we achieve joint results. Thank you, President Donald Trump!“
Meanwhile, all Ukrainian troops have been forced from parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow lost control of last year to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s top general said in a Kremlin meeting. Ukrainian officials denied the claim.
Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff for Russia’s Armed Forces, gave Russian President Putin the news in a meeting, Peskov told Russian state news outlet Interfax.
In a statement, Putin congratulated the Russian soldiers and commanders and said that Kyiv’s incursion had “completely failed”.
“The complete defeat of our enemy along Kursk’s border region creates the right conditions for further successes for our troops and in other important areas of the front,” he said.
Ukrainian officials, however, said the fighting was still continuing. “The statements of representatives of the high command of the aggressor country about the alleged end of hostilities in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation are not true,” a Ukrainian government statement said.
“The defensive operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in certain areas in the Kursk region continues. The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold designated positions and carry out assigned tasks, while inflicting effective fire damage on the enemy with all types of weapons, including using active defense tactics,” it added.