Addis Ababa -The African Union has named Mahamat Saleh Annadif of Chad as the new special representative for Somalia, shifting Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra of Mali to the Great Lakes region.
Annadif takes up the Mogadishu-based post as Special Representative for Somalia and head of the 17,00-strong AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is battling Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.
Annadif is a former Chadian presidential chief of staff and foreign minister, who stepped down earlier this year after corruption allegations, but was later cleared of the charges.
Diarra shifts to the Burundian capital Bujumbura as Special Representative for the Great Lakes, where he will work “towards peace building and post-conflict reconstruction” the AU said in a statement late Thursday. – Sapa-AFP
