Ugandan troops make up the bulk of the African Union force helping Somalia’s UN-backed government. With much of the country under the control of al-Shabab Islamist militants, it is probably one of the most dangerous missions that a soldier could embark on.
On Tuesday, President Yoweri Museveni met UK’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York were they discussed the situation in Somalia, South Sudan and Burundi.
During the meeting at the Uganda Permanent Mission Offices in New York, Mr. Museveni promised a concerted effort to stop and flush out Alshabab.
told Boris that there must be a more serious concerted effort to flush out and stop al-Shabaab militants from Somalia and called for the strengthening of AMISOM through provision of more equipment and personnel to finish the job.
The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab is the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa. It maintains a presence largely in Somalia’s rural areas and continues to pose major challenges to the allied Somali and African Union forces, even as the AU force plans to pull out of Somalia in the coming years and leave security to Somali troops.
Hundreds of African Union soldiers have been killed in recent years as al-Shabab targets their military bases as well.
Al-Shabab is opposed to the presence of foreign troops inside Somalia and has mounted deadly attacks in Kampala and Nairobi, Kenya – which also has troops in Somalia.
But military analysts say al-Shabab is a difficult enemy because they often look like civilians and because they have become expert in the use of non-conventional weapons such as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
