Sierra Leone troops’ deployment to Somalia delayed over Ebola fears

Deployment of a new contingent of Sierra Leonean soldiers to the AU Mission in Somalia (Amisom) is being delayed until it receives a medical report over Ebola.

On Wednesday, Amisom spokesman Eloi Yao said the mission has deferred the placement to avoid the risk of importing the Ebola virus into Somalia.

“Unless we are advised otherwise by our health experts, we cannot ignore the risk of Ebola. That is why the deployment of new Sierra Leonean soldiers has been put on hold. Our position remains the same since August,” Mr Yao told the Nation by phone.

Sierra Leone, one of the five countries contributing troops to Amisom, is also among the worst affected by the Ebola virus. At least 1,500 people have died after getting infected. About 800 Sierra Leonean soldiers were supposed to arrive in August to replace another battalion that has already served its term.

However, the rising cases of Ebola infections caused Amisom to postpone the redeployment. Mr Yao, though, argued the delay has not affected the strength of Amisom forces in combating Al-Shabaab.

“The mission has not really been affected. Of course the Sierra Leonean forces have already served their term, but I visited the camp and the morale was still high,” he added.

KDF FIGHT ALONG SIERRA LEONEAN TROOPS

The delay is also important to Kenya because the Kenya Defence Forces fight alongside Sierra Leonean troops in southern Somalia, known as Sector II and headquartered in Kismayu. KDF has more than 3,600 soldiers in southern Somalia.

Other contributing countries to different sectors in Somalia include Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti. Normally, each contributing country replaces its soldiers after serving for a year as a way of bringing in new energy.

There were reports in Sierra Leonean media on Tuesday indicating that one of the soldiers due to be deployed to Somalia had tested positive for the virus, leading the entire group to be quarantined.

The Sierra Leonean embassy in Addis Ababa, the nearest mission that also serves Kenya, did not respond to our enquiries Wednesday evening.

Ebola first began in Guinea before spreading in two months to neighbouring Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal. The last two have since contained the epidemic, but the virus has gone on to sprout in Spain and the United States.

Amisom says the delay is cautionary but it says it has its own systems of checking the health status of the soldiers fighting under it.