# Burundi's military in Somalia, 2007 to 2025 > Burundi's military role in Somalia: the 2007 arrival, its contingent in AMISOM and ATMIS, losses, the 2016–2017 allowances dispute with the EU, and its exit from the AU mission in 2025. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/burundi-military-in-somalia/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short Burundi kept troops in Somalia for about eighteen years, from 2007 until 2025, under the AU missions [AMISOM](/en/institutions/amisom/), [ATMIS](/en/institutions/atmis/) and briefly [AUSSOM](/en/institutions/aussom/). For most of that time it had the second-largest contingent after [Uganda](/en/institutions/uganda-military-in-somalia/). This page records what the sources report. It is part of [Foreign forces in Somalia](/en/institutions/foreign-forces-in-somalia/). ## Arrival and growth Burundi was the second country, after Uganda, to send troops to AMISOM, in 2007 ([Kaab TV, 26 February 2025](https://en.kaabtv.com/?p=11089)). It had about 1,700 troops in AMISOM by the end of 2008, and at its peak about 5,500, more than a fifth of its whole army. The Institute for Security Studies writes that the deployment was a steady source of income for Burundi's army, and that after the country's 2015 political crisis cut other funding, its defence budget was largely financed through AMISOM ([Bram Verelst, ISS Today, 14 January 2025](https://issafrica.org/iss-today/can-burundi-afford-to-pull-its-troops-out-of-somalia)). Burundian and Ugandan troops, with Somali forces, pushed al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu in 2011 (see [AMISOM](/en/institutions/amisom/)). ## Losses - **17 September 2009.** A suicide bombing at AMISOM's headquarters in Mogadishu killed the deputy force commander, Major General Juvenal Niyoyunguruza of Burundi (see [AMISOM](/en/institutions/amisom/)). - **3 May 2022, El Baraf, Middle [Shabelle](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/).** [Al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/) attacked a Burundian camp. A Burundian officer said 30 soldiers were killed and 22 wounded (see [ATMIS](/en/institutions/atmis/)). - Kaab TV reported in 2025 that hundreds of Burundian soldiers had died in Somalia over the deployment (Kaab TV, 2025). Burundi did not publish a total. Human Rights Watch's 2014 report on sexual exploitation by AU troops named the Burundian base in the national university compound in Mogadishu as one of the places where abuses occurred (see [AMISOM](/en/institutions/amisom/)). ## The allowances dispute, 2016–2017 AMISOM soldiers' allowances came from an EU-funded pool and were paid through their governments. In March 2016 Africanews, citing Reuters, reported that the government received $1,000 per soldier a month and kept $200, about $13 million a year for Burundi, and that the EU planned to stop that money passing through the government, to press President Pierre Nkurunziza into talks with the opposition after the 2015 crisis. A European diplomat said: "Support for Burundi's contingent of AMISOM cannot continue as it is" ([Africanews, 29 March 2016](https://www.africanews.com/2016/03/29/burundi-eu-plans-to-cut-back-funding-for-peacekeeping/)). After months without payment, Burundi threatened in January 2017 to withdraw its 5,400 troops. On 19 January 2017 Burundi and the AU signed a memorandum on a new payment channel; the AU's peace and security commissioner, Smaïl Chergui, said: "The agreement we have reached satisfies everyone" ([Africanews, 20 January 2017](https://www.africanews.com/2017/01/20/burundi-drops-threat-to-withdraw-troops-from-somalia-after-au-agreement/)). See [The UK and the EU in Somalia](/en/institutions/uk-eu-military-in-somalia/). ## Exit from the AU mission, 2025 Under the ATMIS drawdown Burundi's contingent shrank. For AUSSOM, Burundi offered 3,000 of the planned 12,626 soldiers; Somalia said it would accept about 1,000, and Burundi said it would not take part. Somalia's defence minister cited a lack of consensus on numbers, and Burundian officials said the allocation would leave their soldiers exposed (ISS, 2025). [Garowe Online](/en/economy/somali-media-companies/) reported in February 2025 that Burundi had wanted its contingent raised from just over 1,000 to at least 2,010, and that its troops were set to leave ([Garowe Online, 26 February 2025](https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/burundi-troops-leave-somalia-as-aussom-faces-dispute-over-force-size)). Egypt's planned force was later set to take a headquarters near Ciciley airfield in Middle Shabelle, an area held by Burundian troops (see [Egypt's military in Somalia](/en/institutions/egypt-military-in-somalia/)). Burundi had meanwhile expanded its deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under a 2022 bilateral arrangement (ISS, 2025). ## Sources differ - **What Burundi asked for in AUSSOM.** 3,000 (ISS) or at least 2,010 (Garowe Online); Somalia's offer about 1,000. - **Peak strength.** About 5,400 (Africanews, 2017) or about 5,500 (ISS, 2025). - **Losses.** Burundi published no total; Kaab TV reported hundreds of deaths. ## Read the primary sources yourself - Bram Verelst, "Can Burundi afford to pull its troops out of Somalia?", ISS Today (2025): [article](https://issafrica.org/iss-today/can-burundi-afford-to-pull-its-troops-out-of-somalia). - Africanews, "Burundi drops threat to withdraw troops from Somalia after AU agreement" (2017): [article](https://www.africanews.com/2017/01/20/burundi-drops-threat-to-withdraw-troops-from-somalia-after-au-agreement/). - Garowe Online, "Burundi troops leave Somalia as AUSSOM faces dispute over force size" (2025): [article](https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/burundi-troops-leave-somalia-as-aussom-faces-dispute-over-force-size). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. 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