Britain is to send dozens of troops to Somalia and possibly South Sudan to train soldiers and boost security in the region, Downing Street said Monday.

Around 70 troops will go to Somalia, where the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu protected by 22,000 African Union troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Up to 300 may also be deployed in South Sudan, where an internationally-brokered ceasefire deal was agreed in August, the eighth such agreement since civil war broke out in 2013.

Prime Minister David Cameron is set to confirm the move at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Read more: The Peninsula Qatar