AU Planning to Beef Up Somalia Force

In addition to a potential mission change, the AU is planning to send reinforcements to Somalia.

African Union leaders have agreed to reinforce the AU peacekeeping force in Somalia to tackle al-Shabab militants.

At a summit in Uganda, they approved a request to send 2,000 more troops to the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Rules of engagement are to be changed to allow the troops to fire first if they are facing imminent attack.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had wanted a tougher mandate to "eliminate" the al-Qaeda linked group that allowed forces to go on the offensive.

By: Brant