By Dennis Otim

29^th Nov 2010

President Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday appealed for more international support to bolster the African Union [AU] force in Somalia.  The President, who took time off his campaign for re-election, made the appeal during a brief visit to the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Wearing full combat fatigues, Museveni met his Somalia counterpart President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed at the airport along with Somalia’s new Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and some members of a fresh, streamlined cabinet that was approved by parliament on Saturday.

“…We want more troops from Uganda or from anywhere in Africa.  Uganda is a country of 33million people so we could mobilise 3million people.  But who will pay for it?  International support is not enough. They don’t take the Somali problem seriously”, Museveni complained.

At present, Uganda and Burundi provide all the 7,200 African Union soldiers who are trying to guard the Western-backed Somali government that has to date failed to stamp its authority on much more than a slice of the capital city Mogadishu.

Two hardline Islamist insurgent groups control the rest of Mogadishu and much of southern and central Somalia.  The African Union troops have so far prevented the rebels from toppling the weak government by defending key sites.

“…I came to check on our troops and also to consult His Excellency (President Ahmed).  I am very pleased they formed a new government, have a new Prime Minister, and are united.  Our troops’ morale is very high”, Museveni happily added

The AU and the seven-nation East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have said it could take about 20,000 troops to help quell the insurgents in Somalia, a country that has been without stable central government for nearly 20 years.

Uganda has said it could supply the full 20,000 troops required but wants Western nations and others to help foot the bill.  While there have been many pledges of international support for the Somali government, incessant infighting and rampant corruption have not helped its cause.

Most security analysts now agree that the Horn of African country has now become a safe haven for jihadists training to launch attacks in neighbouring countries and further afield.

On July 11^th 2010, bombs allegedly detonated by Somali insurgents linked to al Qaeda killed at least 84 innocent Ugandans in who were watching the soccer World Cup finals in the capital city Kampala.

The chaos in Somalia has also allowed piracy to flourish off shore.  The number of successful hijackings by Somali pirates was at a five-year high in the first nine-months of 2010.

Somalia’s new Prime Minister, a man who has been in office for about a month, plans to recruit 8,000 government troops to push the rebels and foreign fighters [Jihadists] in their ranks out of Mogadishu.

“…My first, second and third priority is improving security.  In the first phase, we are going to recruit 8,000 government troops.  Our initial target will be to drive the rebels from the capital Mogadishu and then the rest of the country. We shall not talk to foreign jihadists…who came here to harass our people and our country”, the Prime Minister said.

END. Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.