Some 1,400 Ugandan troops are set to leave for Somalia for a peacekeeping mission early next month, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Ruth Nankabirwa, minister of State for Defense told the press that the peacekeepers who are now awaiting parliamentary approval will leave for Somalia in the next two weeks.

"The government will today table a motion seeking parliamentary approval and when this is done, our troops will be in Somalia in the next two weeks," Nankabirwa said.

Though the ruling National Resistance Movement party which has two thirds of the seats in Parliament approved the deployment, the main opposition party, Forum for Democratic Change has vowed to oppose the motion.

Nankabirwa said the government does not expect much resistance in Parliament because Uganda as a member of the African Union is obliged to send peacekeepers to Somalia.

Uganda has been asked to play a key role in the deployment of peacekeepers in Somalia under the auspices of the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional body that brings together Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

The Ugandan military said last week that the peacekeepers, who have undergone combat and peace support drills assisted by the British government and French army, were well-prepared and ready for the deployment.

Source: Xinhua