Nigeria has postponed the deployment of troops to the war-ravaged Somalia until presidential elections are done and the new commander-in-chief authorizes the deployment, Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju said here Friday.

Benin has also delayed the deployment of troops to the African Union Peace Support Mission for Somalia, which expects to deploy 8, 000 troops to Somalia, Tuju said.

Speaking after an Intergovernmental Authority on Development ( IGAD) Council of Ministers meeting on Somalia and Sudan ended, the Kenyan minister said the delay in the deployment of African troops was due to a "conspiracy of factors."

Nigeria, the first African country to pledge troops to Somalia, is awaiting the country's forthcoming presidential elections due on April 21, before it could reconsider the deployment of the troops, Tuju said.

Nigeria, he said, was one of the most experienced African nations on the peacekeeping initiatives. He said the Nigerian authorities have notified the African Union of the delay.

Burundi is ready to deploy two battalions to Somalia as soon as funds and other logistical support is availed for the process, Tuju told journalists.

Tuju said the situation in Somalia is volatile but with key financial support, the Horn of African nation could stand on its feet if funds were available for it to train its own troops.

"Several people do not know this, but the Somali Transitional Government has trained 4,000 troops and another 4,000 troops have been recruited into the force, if these are properly trained, they could provide the security that is needed," he explained.

Kenya and Tanzania have offered to help train Somali forces to help in post-conflict security issues of the country, Tuju said.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has pledged to fund the deployment of troops to Somalia and contribute funds to support the forthcoming national reconciliation conference in Somalia. Italy has also agreed to provide 10 million euros (13 million U.S. dollars) to Somalia.

"The fund-raising for Somalia has been fairly reasonable in terms of commitments," Tuju told Xinhua.

He said the delays in the deployment of the troops was not just funding, but had to do with other political complications.

Source: Xinhua