From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Jan 29 2010 - 08:18:03 EST
'AMISOM alone can't help Somalia'
Jan 29, 2010 - 2:26:45 PM
A spokesman for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia says the
force is not capable of maintaining the peace in the restive capital
Mogadishu, blaming it on the armed opposition.
AMISOM's spokesman Major Barigye Ba-Huko says Somali Islamist insurgents
receive backings from Al-Qaeda terrorist network, which he said organize and
fund through resources from other countries.
"Somali rebels receive funding and weapons from allied countries. And
Al-Qaeda is fighting alongside them, so can't defeat them all by ourselves,"
said the spokesman.
He described the security situation in Somalia as similar to that of Iraq
and Afghanistan where NATO and its allies are unable to control.
Burundi and Uganda are the only African countries which contributed some
5,300 troops to the African Union Mission to Somalia. The initial target for
the mission was 8,000 troops that would maintain the peace of the war-torn
nation.
"Our forces are few and under equipped, we need more troops and equipments
so that we can do something about the deteriorating situation in Somalia,"
Bahuko said.
Meanwhile, The African Union has announced on Thursday that Djibouti was
intent on sending a contingent of 450 officers to reinforce AMISOM troops.
The peacekeeping troops, which provide protection to the weak-UN-backed
government in Mogadishu, frequently come under attack from insurgents.
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