Head of AU Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia Calls for Fast Deployment of Troops
Excerpt from report by Richard Linga, Frank Nyakairu, Grace Matsiko and agencies entitled “UPDF chief calls for more AU troops” published by Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor website on 22 March
The Ugandan commander of the African Union peacekeeping mission in troubled Somalia yesterday called for fast deployment of extra troops as reports intensified over heavy fighting in the capital Mogadishu that left at least 13 people dead and scores injured.
Maj-Gen Levi Karuhanga made the appeal while addressing the press from his base at Mogadishu Airport. Somali insurgents dragged corpses of two soldiers through the streets in Mogadishu and set their bodies on fire during fierce battles with government forces.
The grisly scenes were reminders of the aftermath of the 1993 shooting down of a US Black Hawk helicopter during a failed attempt to deal with insurgents, after which the images of American troops being dragged through the streets led to the eventual withdrawal of United Nations forces and years of anarchy in Somalia.
“We are pleading for the member states of the AU to provide more troops because we haven’t been able to see the full deployment of troops for Amisom (the AU force)” Gen Karuhanga said. Gen Karuhanga spoke after meeting with AU security chief Said Djinnit, who was in the coastal capital for a one-day visit under tight security.
The Ugandan officer, who currently heads 1,500 Ugandan peacekeeping troops under his command, spoke as gunmen set off a roadside bomb and attacked a UN convoy heading for Mogadishu.
UPDF [Uganda People's Defence Forces] troops are the vanguard of a larger African Union force authorised by the United Nations to help the government assert its authority The first AU troops began deploying on 6 March, but the AU aims to deploy some 8,000 soldiers with a six-month mandate to help Somali forces take control of the country.
Burundi has offered 1,700 troops, but has said it lacks equipment for the mission. Nigeria has offered 850 troops but has not given details of their deployment schedule. Malawi and Ghana are also expected to contribute but the AU is still far from reaching the proposed 8,000 figure.
In Mogadishu, Gen Karuhanga’s appeal came as seven people were killed and 10 were injured when Somali and Ethiopian troops entered an insurgent stronghold in central Mogadishu on Wednesday, triggering a battle.
Hundreds of masked insurgents confronted the government forces, which were supported by tanks and armoured vehicles, as they entered the area, said Ali Haji Jama, a resident of the northeastern neighbourhood at the centre of the fighting as quoted by news agencies in Somalia.
Other witnesses said they saw insurgents drag the bodies of one Ethiopian soldier and one Somali government soldier through the streets of northeastern Mogadishu and then set them on fire.
Ethiopian tanks rolled out of the former defence ministry and moved into nearby Shirkole area, which is seen as the stronghold of the insurgent groups and they met stiff resistance.
Other witnesses said minibuses filled with insurgents were racing through the city to reach Shirkole and defend against the Ethiopian advance. Mr Said Djinnit on Tuesday held talks with interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi in Mogadishu’s presidential palace, Villa Somalia.
“We paid tribute to the Ugandans who have shown great commitment in deploying the first batch of the stabilization force,” he said at a press conference, declining to give details of further deployments.
“This visit is also to give moral support to our forces on the ground. We are confident that the people of Somalia will understand the AU mission is the friend of Somalia,” he said.
Military hardware and the final deployment of Uganda’s AU troops docked Monday at Mogadishu port, as nearby mortar attacks killed at least three and injured 12. Insurgents have vowed to attack the peacekeepers and have already targeted the Ugandans since their arrival on 6 March. Two Ugandan peacekeepers have been injured and flown back to Kampala.
Meanwhile, the AU military spokesperson in Somalia, Paddy Ankunda said UPDF personnel will not fight Somalis but will seek dialogue. Speaking on phone Capt Ankunda said the AU troops would not be engaged in war but were interested in the establishment of reconciliation among Somalis. “Our motive here is to ensure peace prevails and not to fight or start a war with anyone,” Capt Ankunda said.
He said the Ugandan soldiers were not involved in Wednesday’s fighting. “It has not affected the three areas we are in,” he said, referring to Mogadishu’s airport, seaport and presidential palace.
His comments came after a couple of AU military helicopters flew overhead the volatile city of Mogadishu where rocket and mortars were exchanged by insurgents and government troops backed by Ethiopian forces on Monday night.
Residents who last saw helicopters in 1995 when United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) troops left the country expressed fear that AU/UPDF troops in the capital may launch air strikes on the militants, who on Monday night, fired nearly 30 mortar rounds at the government bases, including the seaport where UPDF troops were deployed and have since assumed control.
Capt Ankunda, however, denied reports that it deployed helicopter gunships to stem violence that engulfed Mogadishu. “That is not correct. It is misleading and it has not happened,” he said.
[Passage omitted]
(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Africa. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.