Somalia - The European Union is close to greenlighting the launch of a fresh Somali mission aimed at training the country's army and militia.

European officials said on Tuesday that the bloc is now planning to deploy some 100 troops to Uganda next year to train Somali government forces to fight insurgents battling the new UN-backed government.

EU says the move is a gesture to underscore European support for the fledgling Mogadishu-based government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

It follows Mogadishu's calls for international assistance in training around 6,000 troops as the nucleus of a regular army, as rebels continue launching attacks against government forces.

The mission must secure a final approval but is expected to start in the first half of next year, when Spain is due to inherit the EU's rotating presidency from Sweden.

"We agreed today that the EU as a whole can participate ... but we will take this decision in the next weeks when we have an operational plan," said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Spain, Britain, Slovenia, Hungary and Greece are likely to send troops, while France has already announced it would contribute 30 soldiers. Paris has also offered Djibouti as an alternative place for the instruction of a Somali army.

The plan is for the training of up to 2,000 Somali troops, to work alongside other training missions with the object of forming a 6,000-strong army.

This is while the country remains divided 11 months after Ahmed took office, with most regions still under control of Somali rebels — despite hopes that the lawless Horn of Africa nation would at last see a functioning government since the overthrow of dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

In the past two years, the conflict has claimed some 19,000 civilian lives and displaced 1.5 million Somalis from their homes.

Defense ministers also extended the mandate of the EU naval operation, Atalanta, until the end of 2010. The mission seeks to combat and prevent attacks and hijacking of trade and fishing vessels off the pirate-infested coast of Somalia.

Somali pirates are currently holding at least 14 vessels and more than 230 crew members hostage, according to official maritime figures. The bandits hold the ships and the hostages against millions of dollars in ransoms.

ZHD/AKM

Originally published in Press TV