African Union peacekeepers based in Mogadishu have an acronym for the guerrilla war in Somalia -- VUCA -- meaning volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous
From a distance, they hear echoing blasts of heavy weaponry. A Mogadishu district is under attack from radical insurgents once again and the Ugandan peacekeepers calmly scan their radio tolocate the clashes."Here in Mogadishu, it is like that," says major Barigye Bahoku, spokesperson for the African Mission in Somalia (Amisom). "We have a word for that: VUCA".The Horn of Africa country has been at war for nearly two decades. Foreign forces and peacekeepers have come and gone but an end to the bloodshed still looks out of reach.The latest round of bloodletting in the Somali capital kicked off on May 7 when hardline Islamist groups launched a fresh offensive aimed at removing internationally-backed President SharifSheikh Ahmed.On Friday, Sharif's paltry forces launched an unsuccessful attempt to push back the rebels and a fraction of the Cabinet remains holed up in the presidential compound, under Amisom protection.In a command room plastered with maps at the Amisom headquarters in Mogadishu, a board lists the "events" of the day."At around 0200, insurgents fired three mortar shells at seaport but missed the target. At around 1600 insurgents attacked State House [Parliament] from southern direction using small arms," read one entry.General Francis Okello, Amisom's Ugandan top commander who is in charge of the 4 300 troops from Uganda and Burundi deployed gradually over the past two years, argued that violence in Somalia was cyclical.,,more..http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-05-25-somali-general-says-insurgentss-days-are-numbered
From a distance, they hear echoing blasts of heavy weaponry. A Mogadishu district is under attack from radical insurgents once again and the Ugandan peacekeepers calmly scan their radio tolocate the clashes."Here in Mogadishu, it is like that," says major Barigye Bahoku, spokesperson for the African Mission in Somalia (Amisom). "We have a word for that: VUCA".The Horn of Africa country has been at war for nearly two decades. Foreign forces and peacekeepers have come and gone but an end to the bloodshed still looks out of reach.The latest round of bloodletting in the Somali capital kicked off on May 7 when hardline Islamist groups launched a fresh offensive aimed at removing internationally-backed President SharifSheikh Ahmed.On Friday, Sharif's paltry forces launched an unsuccessful attempt to push back the rebels and a fraction of the Cabinet remains holed up in the presidential compound, under Amisom protection.In a command room plastered with maps at the Amisom headquarters in Mogadishu, a board lists the "events" of the day."At around 0200, insurgents fired three mortar shells at seaport but missed the target. At around 1600 insurgents attacked State House [Parliament] from southern direction using small arms," read one entry.General Francis Okello, Amisom's Ugandan top commander who is in charge of the 4 300 troops from Uganda and Burundi deployed gradually over the past two years, argued that violence in Somalia was cyclical.,,more..http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-05-25-somali-general-says-insurgentss-days-are-numbered
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