By Damian Zane BBC News, Addis Ababa

The first contingent of more than 800 Ethiopian troops will leave the capital, Addis Ababa, on Saturday to bolster the African Union's peacekeeping efforts in Burundi.

The Ethiopian troops will be monitoring the ceasefire the Burundi Government has signed with rebel factions after a civil war that has lasted 10 years.

Ethiopia is keen to portray itself as a country willing to help in keeping the peace across the continent.

The battalion of troops which has been waiting to leave for three months now has finally been able to go because of funding from the United States.

The US has donated $6.5m. The peacekeeping mission, which will consist of 3,200 troops from Ethiopia, South Africa and Mozambique, will oversee the ceasefire as well as run the camps where the rebel fighters are supposed to be demobilised.

One problem though is that not all of Burundi's rebel groups have signed up to the ceasefire.

But as one African Union (AU) official told me, the important thing is to support the peace process so far and create a momentum to help other groups join in.

This is the AU's first peacekeeping mission and its success is important for the organisation's credibility as it will boost confidence amongst its funders that the organisation can actually keep peace on the continent.