Capt Paddy Ankunda
Sunday, July 01, 2007
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DEAR Mr. Chairman, I have been trying to reach you in vain. I am happy though that I finally got this space to reach out to you. The Ugandan contingent you sent to the African Union (AU) mission in Somalia reached safely. As I write to you, we are now fully established as you may have read in the media. Our base camp is well set. We also took over the security of the airport, the seaport, the presidential palace and that spot commonly known as Km 4 from the Ethiopian forces that we found in the mission area.
If you can recall, the Ethiopian army wanted to pull out in two weeks after dislodging the insurgents. You however asked them to stay until you fully deploy. Had they not listened to you, their going would have been catastrophic to this mission.
In the four months we have been here, we have managed to distribute clean drinking water to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who urgently need humanitarian assistance.
We also extended medical treatment to about 1,200 civilians who were suffering from different infections including cholera. This assistance also benefited 530 children. Through these activities, we managed to win the support of the Somali people. However, this intervention cannot be sustained because of our limited capacity and as such we request that you appeal to world humanitarian agencies to come and help in this area.
We also request that you fast track the process of contributing troops from the troop contributing countries (TCCs) that pledged to deploy to help the Somali people.
For us on the ground, we will help to secure their entry as well as helping them to reach where they will deploy.
I have been reading opinions from some scholars alluding that Africa cannot manage to raise troops for this mission. I do not want to believe them because I have faith in your capacity to mobilise.
For now, I can say that the Ugandan troops on the ground cannot stretch any further.
As you may recall, we lost some Ugandan peacekeepers when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in May. The Ethiopians, as you know, cannot stay here forever.
So the earlier you deploy, the more you will be helping the situation. Hoping for your reply soonest. Yours truly, Capt Paddy Ankunda.
The writer is the spokesman of AMISOM
Source: New Vision, July 01, 2007