On December 21st, Burundi’s parliament unanimously rejected the proposed AU peacekeeping force.
Author: Paul D. Williams
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If the Burundian government calls the AU’s bluff and refuses to invite MAPROBU onto its territory, this raises an even more fundamental set of challenges for the AU.
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Unlike the UN, which publicly catalogs peacekeeper fatalities suffered during its operations by date, mission, nationality, and type of incident, the AU provides no such records for AMISOM.
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Al-Shabaab is still an active and potent enemy, but its recent operational challenges can be a source of strength for AMISOM’s counter-terrorism efforts.
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The crisis in Mali has exposed tensions between the AU and the UN.
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There is an opportunity to deal al-Shabaab a fundamental blow; it would be shortsighted not to make the most of it.
