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Uganda ponders unilateral action
Amison peacekeepers from Uganda guard Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed in Mogadishu. Photo/FILE
Posted Monday, July 19 2010 at 00:00
As a fallback position, it has entered into an understanding where it will undertake military action in Somalia at the invitation of the TFG.
Military thinkers in Kampala believe that such a bilateral arrangement would bypass any limitations imposed by international conventions, and Uganda could act in the Somali theatre in much the same way Zimbabwe joined the great African war in the DR Congo just over a decade ago.
“Anybody who brings war to us, we take back that war to them. We shall pursue Al Shabaab from Somalia in line with the wishes of the Transitional Federal Government,” said Uganda’s Army and Defence Ministry spokesman Lt-Col Felix Kulaigye.
Although similar action by Ethiopia when it ousted the Islamic Courts Union from Mogadishu in December 2006 was torpedoed over concerns of unilateral action, Kampala believes the July 11 bombings have worked to reshape international opinion over what needs to be done in Somalia.
“These attacks definitely help strengthen the resolve and rationale for a more robust and decisive action in Somalia,” said James Mugume, the Permanent Secretary in Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Mugume added that as a follow-up to the July 4 Igad meeting in Addis, regional leaders will propose the deployment of the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade, EasiBrigade, in Somalia.
Uganda is also examining the possibility of using such fora as the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) which already has provisions that offer some room for intervention.
The ICGLR is governed by the Nairobi Pact, under which the protocol on non-aggression and mutual defence encourages member states to work together and dismantle unwanted armed groups.
The executive secretary of ICGLR Liberata Mulamula said once the TFG’s request for membership is approved by the Summit, it would create a framework under which Uganda or any other member state could be invited to militarily assist Somalia’s interim government.
“Somalia has already applied to be a member; once that request is approved, Uganda will be able to work together with the Transitional Federal Government and fight Al Shabaab under the legal framework that governs the organisation,” said Nathan Byamukama, the ICGLR programme officer in charge of cross-cutting issues.
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