UPDF deaths: UN calls for more troops in Somalia
By Sharon Tibenda
7th Nov 2011:
More needed: UPDF troops in Somalia
The United Nations envoy for Somalia has stressed the need to bring the strength of the African Union peacekeeping force in the Horn of Africa country to the 12,000 troops mandated by the Security Council, adding that the force also needs the capacity to deal with unconventional tactics of war.
Augustine Mahiga, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, told a news conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi on 31st October that Al Shabaab insurgents, who are opposed to Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG), were increasingly resorting to unconventional warfare, especially the use of bombs and other explosives to carry out acts of terrorism against civilians.
“…In this last effort to clear Al Shabaab in north-eastern corner of the city [Mogadishu], we are witnessing a combination of conventional warfare methods and terrorist attacks. It is, of course, quite a challenge and in a sense an important reminder to the troop-contributing countries and to the international community that we must expedite the deployment of the remaining 3,000 troops which have been authorized by the Security Council”, said Mr. Mahiga.
He also said there was an urgent need for reorientation of the fighting forces of AMISOM [African Mission in Somalia] to deal with these unconventional methods of warfare. Asked about the presence of Kenya troops in Somalia, Mr. Mahiga said the decision to deploy Kenyan forces was a bilateral one between the two countries and was in no way related to the deployment of AMISOM, which has a Security Council mandate.
The current 9,000 AMISOM troops in Somalia, including a police element – are all from Uganda and Burundi. An unspecified number of Uganda’s UPDF troops were killed in Mogadishu and their bodies returned home last week. The army barred the media from covering the event at the army airbase in Entebbe.
Al Shabab however claimed that it had killed 80 UPDF soldiers in two suicide bombings and an ambush. We were unable to verify those claims. END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
