Uganda calls on Somalia to get rid of dependence on foreign forces

Uganda was the first African country to dispatch troops to Somalia in early 2007 to take part UN-mandated AU mission to support the government in the fight against Al-Shabaab.

News Keydmedia Online
9 August 2022

KAMPALA, Uganda - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has called on his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh to guide his war-torn country to a path that can achieve self-sufficiency in security.

Museveni who met with Hassan Sheikh at Uganda's Presidential palace in Kampala said that Somalia cannot find lasting peace in dependence on foreign forces who only look for their salaries.

The long ruler of Uganda took as an example the 22,000 AU troops who have been in Somalia for 15 years but had not succeeded in stabilizing the country, even the capital, Mogadishu.

 If I am a poor man and don't have money, I can still defend my home. I can mobilize my son and brother, and we will defend our home with no one paying us because we want peace," said Museveni.
 

Continuing, Museveni further said that Uganda is ready to help Somalia in weakening the power of Al-Shabaab, but it does not have money to pay the salaries of the soldiers, even for one month.

Museveni's remarks come as Somalia is expected to take over the security responsibility from ATMIS - African Union Transitional Mission by the end of 2024, a move that many see impossible.

Uganda was the first African country to dispatch troops to Somalia in early 2007 to take part UN-mandated AU mission to support the government in the fight against the Al-Shabaab militant group.

Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda ally in Somalia has been waging an insurgency since 2008 to oust the government and trying to expel troops from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia. 

KEYDMEDIA English