British soldiers join war against al-Shabab
By John Stephen Katende
30th July 2012:
The British government has taken its first official and perhaps most visible steps to join Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Burundi in the war against Somalia’s Islamic militants al-Shabab who are fighting to overthrow the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.
According to the BBC, the British Ministry of Defence confirmed that the UK has established a small military presence in Somalia. The report indicates that a team of 10 military advisers is based at the headquarters of the African Union force in the capital, Mogadishu.
The military advisers however do not have a combat role – their job is to help the AU with planning, communications and medical support. “…We have sent a small team of advisers to assist the AU peacekeeping mission. They do not have a combat role,” an MoD spokesman said in a statement.
A BBC correspondent however said some of the British military advisers have been seen in Afgoye, a strategic town west of the capital recently taken from Islamist militants.
The al-Shabab group, which joined al-Qaeda earlier this year, still controls many rural areas in southern and central Somalia but is under pressure on several fronts.
The country has been without a functioning central authority since 1991 and has been wracked by fighting ever since – a situation that has allowed piracy and lawlessness to flourish.
The UN-backed interim government is supposed to hand over to a new administration by 20 August when a new president and parliament will be elected.
Ethiopian troops, pro-government militias and the African Union force – which has US and European funding and was boosted earlier this year to nearly 18,000 – have helped the transitional government recently expand its control outside Mogadishu.
In the last few months, the militants have lost several key positions, including Afgoye, Baidoa in central Somalia and the southern town of Afmadow. END. Login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories mid-week for our updates
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