Xinhua
Friday, February 24, 2012
Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala, Commander Land Forces, told Xinhua in a telephone interview from London where he is attending the conference that the increase in the troop levels will enable the AU force do a better job than before.
"We think these troop levels will enable us to do a better job and possibly within a shorter time than what it would take us with the troop levels we had," he said.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday approved a resolution that the number of AU peacekeeping troops in Somalia be increased to over 17,700 troops from the earlier-needed 12,000 troops.
Uganda contributes to the AU forces in Somalia with more than 6, 000 troops.
Other countries with troops in
Somalia include Burundi, Kenya and Djibouti.
Wamala said Uganda is planning
to deploy another 2,000 troops to consolidate
the areas that have been captured from the
militants Al-Shabaab.
"Those troop levels will
help us to consolidate what already has been
achieved but also give us the capacity to expand
our area of control and possibly get out of
Mogadishu and enable more humanitarian
assistance," he said.
According to the Ugandan military, other countries like Kenya and Djibouti are also planning to deploy an additional 3,000 to 4, 000 troops and 900 troops respectively.
Lack of enough troops on the
ground has been a major challenge to the operation
of the AU troops in Somalia, according to Wamala.
"It is like when you give
an under dose to a patient, then you would not
help him to ill fast and you could make the
malaise even more resistant," he said.
Wamala argued a decision to increase troop levels alone is not enough, and countries must deploy.
He said in order for the Africans to qualify their statement, African solutions to African problems, they must deploy troops in Somalia.
One of the key aspects of the UN
resolution is that the AU troops can now use force
against the insurgents.
"It is going to be more
flexible and make the operation even more faster
than before," Wamala said noting previously
it was like tying the hands of a boxer and
asking him to attack the enemy.
Previously, AU troops were only allowed to attack the insurgents if attacked or if the troops perceived that they were going to be attacked.
Wamala said as representatives from governments and multilateral organizations meet in London, it is critical that provision of combat equipment to the troops is addressed.
The troops lack adequate military equipment and protective gear to enable them carry out operations efficiently.
Uganda has previously asked for
helicopters to enable the troops to attack the
enemy faster and more efficiently.
Moving away from the military
front, Wamala said one of the major challenges
Somalia faces is the dire humanitarian
situation.
Despite the end of the famine
that ravaged the country last year, there is
still need for humanitarian aid.
"Right now when we secured
Mogadishu, the whole capital is a sea of
Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) and these
people are living in very terrible
conditions," Wamala said.
"One of the most urgent
things which needs to be done is for the
humanitarian agencies to move in very quickly
and put in some order to alleviate the suffering
of the people in IDP camps," he added.
He also said that the political leadership in Somalia should stop infightings which he said do not help consolidate the gains made on the military front.
There have been infightings between the transitional government and the country’s parliament at times causing a stalemate.
The country is scheduled to hold
general elections in August this year, marking the
end of the transitional period.
According to a statement posted
on the British foreign office website, although
the Somalia crisis is complex, the international
community can step up its efforts to tackle both
the root causes and effects of the problems in
the country.
The London conference is expected to agree on a series of practical measures on security, political process after the August elections, counter-terrorism and piracy among others.