No Ugandan troops without an exit strategy

[Castro]

Uganda wants exit strategy for troops

 

By BARBARA AMONG

Special Correspondent

 

Uganda will not contribute to a peacekeeping mission for Somalia unless its mission and an exit strategy are clearly defined, Minister for International Corporation Okello Oryem told The East-African last week.

 

“We are unwilling at the moment because we need to know the composition of IGASOM, its mandate, aims and the objectives of the Uganda army’s involvement, time frame for us in Somalia, exit methods and strategy. There is equally a need for the involvement of the UN and US,” the minister said.

 

He said the Uganda government will not go into Somalia or give in to pressure from the international community to send troops there.

 

Uganda, the minister said, is consulting with the AU member states, the UN and the US on the mission’s purpose and exit strategy before going in. The consultations are expected to go on until mid February.

 

Three weeks after chasingIslamist leaders from Mogadishu with military backing from Ethiopia, Somalia’s interim government now faces the huge task of securing the gun-infested capital.

 

Diplomats from Western, African and Arab states who met recently in Nairobi are pushing for a quick deployment of foreign peacekeepers, approved last month by the United Nations.

 

So far, Uganda is the only country that has pledged troops for the mission under a plan formulated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), which was endorsed a year ago by the African Union.

 

The minister said Uganda will now need to explain to the country’s Cabinet and parliament why there is a need to reverse an earlier decision and only go in once the mission’s purpose is defined.

 

Igad agreed two years ago that Somalia’s immediate neighbours should not be part of a peacekeeping force, adding to pressure on Uganda to take on the role. But Kampala fears getting sucked into a wider regional conflict.

 

“The UDPF is not going there to attack or pursue former warlords or Islamists, we are going in as peacekeepers,” Mr Oryem said. “It will be the work of the TFG army to lead operations to disarm the militias.”

 

Uganda also says that its troops would go into Somalia strictly under the command of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

 

“UPDF will work within our own framework, though going as a peace keeping mission under the IGASOM arrangement,” said Mr Oryem.

 

Last week, local and international media reported that Uganda had sent 1,000 troops to Somalia, a claim the government has denied.

 

“Once the appropriate mechanisms are in place, we shall participate in peacekeeping, but we must also look at our own constitutional provisions which say we cannot deploy troops outside Uganda except with the agreement of parliament. We are going to parliament to ask for this permission,” Minister for Defence Crispus Kiyonga said last week.

 

Mr Oryem said, “The reason why some people are claiming this is because last year we sent a fact finding mission team to Somali led by Maj Gen Kale Kayihura (Uganda’s Inspector General of Police).

 

However, a senior minister told The EastAfrican that a group of about 20 soldiers were sent five months ago and are currently providing protection to President Yusuf Abdulahi. They went there under an arrangement between the defence ministries of Uganda and Somalia.

 

“We would love to take part in solving the Somalia problem, but at the moment it is not a right move. We can’t afford to lose our soldiers,” said Latiff Sebaggala, a member of the Parliamentary Defence Committee.

 

Uganda opposition leader, Col Kizza Besigye said it is prudent that the TFG and the UICC establish a political consensus first.

 

“If the Somali people are to be assisted to rebuild the country, it is important that they establish a political consensus among themselves first,” he said.

 

He added, “The Somalia situation is fluid and there have been specific calls from both the UICC and a section of the TFG against the deployment of foreign troops in their country.

 

It would be foolhardy for the Uganda government to deploy the UPDF against that background.”

 

Although Washington would probably provide logistical support and some funding for a Uganda-led force, it has essentially charged the responsibility to IGAD, most of whose members oppose intervention.

AllAfrica

[Wisdom_Seeker]

The Ugandans have their own problems, getting involved in Somalia is suicidal.

 

Why bring in African peace keeping troops, Ethiopians are already in the country claiming to be bring peace to Somalia. They should stay and finish what they started.