FRANK NYAKAIRU & AGENCIES
Friday, May 04, 2007
advertisements
Kampala, Uganda (Daily Monitor) - SOMALI fighters who took up arms against the interim government backed by Ethiopian troops in recent battles began surrendering their weapons to the African Union peace keeping forces on Thursday.Businessmen from the powerful Hawiye clan turned over crates of ammunition, rifles and heavy weapons at a ceremony in Mogadishu, the scene of fighting that has killed roughly 1,400 people since late March.
AU spokesman of the only Ugandan contingent in Somalia Paddy Ankunda told Daily Monitor that the move is voluntary. The peacekeepers gave the arms to the Somali government. "A cross-section of businessmen in Mogadishu have decided to voluntarily hand over their weapons to us and we encourage others to follow this example," Captain Ankunda said yesterday.
"Our troops have also started patroling Mogadishu to ensure that people return to resume normal life," he added.
The commander of the Uganda Battle Group, "We are very much delighted with the action of the business community.
Source: Daily Monitor, May 04, 2007