The Chinese government has donated $1.2m towards peace efforts in Somalia. The donation will be going to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Smail Chergui, the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security, used his official twitter handle to make the announcement on Monday. Ambassador Kuang Weilin signed for the Chinese government while Chergui signed for the AU.
AMISOM together with the Somalia National Army (SNA) are largely in charge of security in the country.
The AU forces have come under repeated attacks from militant group, al-Shabaab, who are fighting to establish an Islamic government. The Al Qaeda-linked group have claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks on civilians and on government and international security forces.
They still hold some regions in the country even though their capabilities are thought to be waning. Their recent fortunes have been allied to the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in parts of the country. The withdrawals are said to be due to unrest back home but the Ethiopian government denies that.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in a report officially labeled al-Shabaab militants as a transnational security threat in the East Africa region.