Uganda to deploy more troops in volatile Somalia following Ethiopia' s withdrawal

KAMPALA, Uganda (Xinhua) -- Uganda is to deploy another battalion of about 700 soldiers in volatile Somalia following the complete withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops, an official said hereon Thursday. Crispus Kiyonga, Uganda's Defense Minister told the defense committee of the parliament that the troops, along with another contingent from Burundi will be deployed in the country in the next two to three weeks, filling a vacuum created by Ethiopia's withdrawal.
He said that the Somali Transitional Federal Government and the opposition Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia have agreed to raise another 10,000 troops within the country to pacify the situation. Kiyonga said Nigeria has also recommitted itself to sending troops to Somalia.
Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, Chief of Defense Forces of Uganda People's Defense Force said that once the troops are on the ground, two battalions, one from Uganda or Burundi together with another from the local joint force would be deployed in Baidoa to protect parliament.
A total of 8,000 African Union peacekeepers are required in Somalia but only 3,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi have been deployed. Nyakairima said that since the Ethiopian withdrawal and the resignation of Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, the violence in the country has reduced. "The situation poses challenges but also provides opportunities to stabilize Somalia," he said.
Source: Xinhua, Jan 22, 2009