The African Union has agreed to keep its peacekeeping force in Somalia for a further two months, BBC reported.
But the AU's peace and security council appeared to make little progress on the problem of replacing Ethiopian troops when they leave at the end of the year.
Ethiopia has rejected pleas to phase its withdrawal in co-ordination with the arrival of fresh forces.
The AU force already in Mogadishu is too small to resist resurgent Islamist and nationalist fighters.