Uganda wants clear exit strategy for troops in Somalia
Source: Reuters
By Tim Cocks KAMPALA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Uganda is unwilling to contribute to a peacekeeping mission for Somalia unless its mission and an exit strategy are clearly defined, a government official said on Tuesday. After routing rival Islamist leaders from their Mogadishu stronghold with military backing from Ethiopia, Somalia's interim government now faces the huge task of trying to secure the gun-infested capital, one of the world's most dangerous. Uganda had been the first in line to offer peacekeepers to bolster interim President Abdullahi Yusuf's government under a plan by the regional body IGAD, endorsed last month by the African Union and the U.N. Security Council. But on Tuesday, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Oryem Okello told Reuters Uganda wanted to consult regional heads of state, especially Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, on the mission's purpose and exit strategy, before going in. "We want to know: what is our objective? How long are we going to stay? And how will we be able to pull out? All these have to be answered before we consider going in," Okello said. In just two weeks, Ethiopian troops, tanks and fighter jets have allowed the interim government to break out of its provincial enclave, drive the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) from Mogadishu and end six months of Islamist rule across much of the south. Despite the Islamists' surprisingly quick flight, analysts and diplomats fear they may still pose a security threat by resorting to guerrilla tactics. The United States, which is widely thought to have given tacit approval to Ethiopia's intervention, has said it would support efforts to deploy African peacekeepers. IGAD had agreed Somalia's immediate neighbours should not be part of a peacekeeping force, adding to pressure on Uganda to take on the role. Diplomats say Washington is particularly keen to have a regional ally involved. But Kampala fears getting sucked into a wider regional conflict in the volatile Horn of Africa nation. Okello said Uganda still had doubts about the mission. "The government could collapse as fast as it came in if they don't put the security infrastructure in place," he said. "We want consultations on this. We have to have a plan for pulling out." Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni wanted to meet heads of state from around the region to discuss it this week, Okello said. "He wants to consult, especially Ethiopia," he added. Okello said even after cabinet approves a final decision to deploy, it would still have to go to a vote in parliament. "We're in no rush," he said.
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