The African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council agreed in principle on Wednesday to provide troops to ensure the safe return of Somalia's new government to Mogadishu.
But, in a statement announcing this, the council gave no details about how big the force would be, its mission and rules of engagement or when it would be deployed.
The Somali government, now in Kenya, is in the process of picking a new cabinet before going home to try to rebuild the anarchic nation and rein in its fractious militia groups.