Deploy more troops in Somalia - Museveni,US praises Museveni for Somalia role

Kampala

President Museveni yesterday called for the deployment of more troops in Somalia. The President, who is attending the UN general assembly in New York, said soldiers should be deployed in the areas of Baidoa and Kisumayu, which are controlled by the main rebel group.Al shabaab attacked and killed 17 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers including the deputy commander, Maj. Gen. Juvenale Niyoyunguriza last week.According to a State House statement issued yesterday, Mr Museveni said al shabaab can be defeated if more peacekeepers are deployed in Somalia. “The population in Somalia is against the terrorists, they are just imposing themselves. People who don’t care about dying will do anything and therefore they must be paid in their own currency. The interest of Uganda is to ensure total peace in Somalia,” he said while meeting US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice. Ms Rice commended President Museveni on his leadership role and strong commitment to the peacekeeping mission in Somalia. Meanwhile, Parliament yesterday demanded a state funeral for four Ugandan soldiers who died during the Thursday suicide bomber attacks. The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Prof. Ogenga Latigo, asked the government to explain why the fallen soldiers had not been given a special memorial service.Prof. Latigo also said the Executive must give an explanation to Parliament on the attack of Ugandan peacekeepers. “The soldiers had been authorised by the Parliament to go and serve, but we are surprised that we have not been updated on the matter. What happened and where are they now?” he asked, adding: “We, as the opposition, demand to know how we as a country can sacrifice our children in such a place undergoing such missions and then they perish like that and we keep quiet.”But the Prime Minister, Prof. Apollo Nsibambi, said cabinet would meet to discuss if there would be a funeral service for the fallen soldiers. “It is such a good suggestion from the opposition and as cabinet we shalldiscuss it and we get appropriate action,” Prof. Nsibambi said.

US praises Museveni for Somalia role

THE US government has commended President Yoweri Museveni for his leadership and commitment to the peace-keeping mission in Somalia, State House said in a statement yesterday. The US also sent sympathy to the Government for the fallen soldiers and those injured during last week’s attack in Mogadishu. Four UPDF soldiers were killed and 21 wounded in a double suicide bombing on their base on Thursday. Al Shabaab, which Washington says is al Qaeda’s proxy in Somalia, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Washington message was delivered during a meeting between President Yoweri Museveni and Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations, at the St. Regis Hotel in New York. Rice, according to the press release, pledged her government’s support to Uganda and its partners to restore total peace in Somalia and the region. Museveni, who is in the US to attend the UN General Assembly, called for more troops’ deployment in Somalia, particularly in the southern towns of Kismayo and Baidoa. “The population in Somalia is against the terrorists, they are just imposing themselves,” he was quoted as saying. ..more..http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/695365