Somalia’s embattled government on Wednesday hailed the African Union’s decision to beef up its force in Mogadishu, where fierce clashes with Islamist rebels left 17 civilians dead.
Government spokesperson Abdulkadir Mohamoud Walayo said the pan-African bloc’s move was crucial in improving security in war-torn Somalia and the entire region.
“We applaud the fresh troop contributions made by AU states,” said Walayo, a day after AU Commission chief Jean Ping said they had received pledges for 4 000 troops at the close of a three-day heads of state summit in Kampala.
“We believe this decision will help improve the security situation in Somalia and also contain the threat al-Qaeda elements are posing to the region in general.”
But even as African leaders scrambled to boost the AU mission in Somalia (Amisom), officials said Islamist rebels had engaged the force in fierce battles on Tuesday that left at least 17 civilians dead in Mogadishu’s Taleh district.
Forty-six others were also wounded in the clashes, head of Mogadishu’s ambulance services Ali Musa said, adding that according to their tally 174 people had been killed and more than 700 injured so far this month.
Amisom, which currently counts 6 000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi, has been the only thing preventing al-Qaeda-inspired al-Shabaab insurgents from taking the presidential palace and completing its power grab.
“Their decision is a lifeline for the transitional government and is good not only for security in Somalia, but for security in neighbouring countries,” Walayo insisted.
The AU summit was dominated by the crisis in Somalia, which took a regional dimension when suicide attacks claimed by al-Shabaab ripped through crowds watching the Soccer World Cup final in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on July 11, killing 76.
Amisom is also seeking a tougher mandate, or at least modified rules of engagement, which would allow it to hunt al-Shabaab and not be limited to retaliatory action from the few blocks of Mogadishu housing the government.
One of the world’s most dangerous cities
Military experts say that Amisom at its current strength could already reconquer much of Mogadishu if it wanted to, but would still require much more troops, equipment and funding to defeat al-Shabaab nationally.
Before it pulled out, Ethiopia had between 15 000 and 20 000 even better-trained troops in Somalia but failed to break the back of al-Shabaab, who were weaker then than they are now.
While African leaders rallied around Uganda and the Western-backed Somali government during their summit, not all observers agreed that a military escalation was the solution to Somalia’s woes.
The United States, which has had its own military fiascos in Somalia since the country plunged into chaos following the 1991 ouster of Mohamed Siad Barre, has recently moved towards a policy known as “constructive disengagement”.
The argument goes that the presence of Amisom’s foreign soldiers is al-Shabaab’s raison d’etre and that strengthening the African force thus gives the insurgency increased support and legitimacy.
Some analysts also say that while the threat of regional terrorism is real, Amisom would not reduce it by reconquering Mogadishu, while allowing al-Shabaab to overrun the city would soon lead to strife within the insurgency.
Observers also worry that more robust operations by Amisom in Mogadishu would further expose a civilian population that has already borne the brunt of the fighting.
Thousands have died this year alone and hundreds of thousands been displaced in recent years, making Mogadishu one of the world’s most dangerous cities and Somalia the scene of one of its worst humanitarian disasters. — Sapa-AFP