By Dennis Otim

11^th Oct 2010

AU troops in Somalia

The UPDF contingent serving under the AU peace mission in Somalia have gained ground in the fight against Al Shabaab and other Islamist militants, allafrica.om has reported.

“…Our troops now control a large part of Mogadishu and we will continue capturing more bases.  Our target is to seize 50% of Mogadishu by the end of this month”, said Wafula Wamunyinyi who was addressing the media in Nairobi on Friday.  Mr. Wamunyinyi made the remarks following several days of bloody clashes in Mogadishu that have claimed dozens of lives.  Wafula Wamunyinyi added that, “…our troops have established nine new bases in Somalia’s capital over the last several months”.

The AU has about 7,200 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers in Somalia fighting al-Shabab and other militants groups.  Other African nations have pledged to send soldiers to Somalia.  Guinea has pledged to send 2,000 troops and Burundi an additional 1,000 troops.  South Africa has however said it won’t send any troops into Somalia.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.  Over the past two decades, up to one million people have lost their lives in the fighting between rival factions and due to famine and disease.

There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people [IDPs] in Somalia. More than 300,000 IDPs are sheltering in Mogadishu alone.  Most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  END.  If it’s Monday, it’s Uganda Correspondent.  Never miss out again!