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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Oct 06 2010 - 10:36:00 EDT
U.N. eyes proposal for more Somalia troops -Uganda
Wed Oct 6, 2010 2:22pm GMT
By Louis Charbonneau
ENTEBBE, Uganda Oct 6 (Reuters) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on
Wednesday the U.N. Security Council was considering a proposal to raise more
funding for an expanded African Union peacekeeping mission to Somalia.
Ugandan troops make up the bulk of the 7,200-strong Somalia mission known as
AMISOM and Kampala has said it would be willing to add more to provide the
entire 20,000 soldiers thought to be needed to squelch a raging insurgency
in the Horn of Africa country.
"Members of the Security Council are studying (the proposal) to get more
familiar with the issue," Museveni told reporters, after meeting U.N. envoys
visiting his country. He added that he had not received any promises from
the group.
Museveni has been urging greater urgency in regional and international
efforts to stabilise Somalia since the country's al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab
militia claimed responsibility for twin bomb blasts in July that killed
nearly 80 people.
The AU and the seven-nation East African Intergovernmental Authority on
Development have said it could take 20,000 troops to help quell the
insurgents in Somalia, a country without a stable central government for
nearly 20 years.
The presence of foreign AMISOM troops, which include Burundians, gives
Somali militants a reason to pose as nationalist champions and wins them
easy recruits and financial support at home and by Somalis abroad.
Some analysts say the Western-backed Transitional Federal Government is a
lost cause and not worth the support of AMISOM soldiers, who endure frequent
attacks by Somali militants.
Museveni said Uganda could raise any number of troops, but money and
equipment should come from international community.
"We have the experience, tradition, the fighting force. Of course we don't
have that type of money, especially for a country that does not have a
border with us," he said. "That is why we would want the international
community to bring money."
Museveni said the amount of funding that would be required for AMISOM was
not discussed. (Writing by Helen Nyambura; Editing by George Obulutsa)
C Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved
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