From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Jul 19 2010 - 18:12:05 EDT
AU Summit to Broaden Rules for Somalia Peacekeepers
Peter Heinlein | Kampala 19 July 2010
Preliminary meetings are under way for a summit of African leaders in the
Ugandan capital, Kampala, a little more than a week after the city was
shocked by twin suicide bombings that killed 76 people. The bombings have
placed Somalia at the top of an agenda nominally dedicated to improving
health care for Africa's infants and pregnant women.
The theme of this week's gathering is about saving the lives of women in
childbirth. One in 16 women in sub-Saharan Africa dies while giving birth,
compared to one in 4,000 in the developed world.
But with memories still fresh of the bomb attacks, the summit's attention is
turning more to upgrading the rules of engagement for A.U. peacekeepers in
Somalia.
The summit host, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni says he wants authority
for the mostly Ugandan A.U. mission in Somalia to step out of its
peacekeeping role and actively pursue the al-Qaida linked Somali extremist
group that claims responsibility for the blasts.
A.U. Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra says heads of state
will be looking at several options. "There are a variety of issues that can
be covered by the rules of engagement. If properly equipped, and if
mobility is available, as well as other assets and enablers, you could very
much in the exercise of the legitimate right to self-defense, engage in some
very bold actions aimed at preempting the actions of the terrorists and
insurgents," he said.
Lamamra says the summit will consider giving AMISOM commanders on the ground
broader authority. "We would, as the political leadership would also be
guided by the advice of the force commander and his colleagues on the
ground. We would certainly want to give him leeway so he could accomplish
his mission in the most comfortable manner. The mission is quite difficult,
the mission is complex, but we have every confidence in the good people who
are on the ground there," he said.
The commissioner says if sufficient logistical support is available, another
2,000 AMISOM troops should be in Somalia by September. The United States,
the main financial and logistical backer of AMISOM, indicated last week it
would be willing to support the proposed buildup.
The summit will also consider a recommendation from east African leaders
that AMISOM's authorized strength be raised from 8,000 to as much as 20,000.
That figure could include troops from neighboring countries such as Ethiopia
and Kenya.
A U.N. Security Council resolution discourages neighboring countries from
contributing troops to AMISOM, since they could be seen as an irritant.
Ethiopia sent troops to support Somalia's transitional government in 2006,
but pulled them out after their presence was portrayed as being part of the
problem rather than part of the solution.
But following the Kampala bombings, there is a renewed sense that front-line
states such as Ethiopia and Kenya should join AMISOM, since they would be
most directly threatened if Somalia were to become a base for al-Qaida.
Nicholas Bwakira of South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, a former
A.U. special envoy to Somalia, is among those who favor deployment of
Ethiopian and Kenyan troops. He says the argument that Ethiopian troops
were an irritant has proven to be false. "It has been proven that was purely
propaganda. Because during the negotiations, al-Shabab was saying if
Ethiopians withdraw, they will stop fighting, but they have increased the
fighting, so Ethiopia was the pretext not the cause," he said.
The pre-summit meetings attracted mostly A.U. commissioners and ambassadors,
heads of state are not expected until late in the week.
Outside dignitaries attending include Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who
will be the host of the next climate summit later this year, Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
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