Uganda: training to fight Al Shabaab

Paul Ames - GlobalPost / July 12th, 2010

Inside the EU camp where Somali troops are taught to battle Al Qaeda allies

By Paul Ames - GlobalPost
Published: July 13, 2010 08:01 ET in Africa

Somali soldier getting European Union training at a camp in Uganda. (Paul Ames/GlobalPost)

Editor's note: The bombings that killed more than 70 people in Kampala Sunday have drawn attention to Uganda's involvement with the African Union force fighting the Al Shabaab militia in Somalia. Al Shabaab, an ally of Al Qaeda, vowed to continue its terror strikes against Uganda and other African countries that support Somalia's transitional government.
Here is an inside account of how Uganda is hosting a camp where European Union advisers are training Somali soldiers in ways to combat Al Shabaab.
BIHANGA, Uganda — With the setting sun gleaming on the barrels of their AK-47s, the line of Somali recruits belts out a rousing rendition of their national anthem.
When it’s over they punch the air with a cry of “Soomaliya Ha Noolaato!” or “Long live Somalia,” followed quickly by “European Union Ha Noolaato!” and finally “Africa Ha Noolaato!”
The EU has earned this display of affection by setting up a training scheme for 2,000 Somali soldiers loyal to the embattled Mogadishu government in this remote military base in southwestern Uganda.
Colonel Ricardo Gonzalez Elul, Spanish commander of the 120-strong European training mission, said the aim is to create the “backbone” of a new model army that could eventually push back the jihadist militias of Al Shabaab which now control much of Somalia and keep the Western-backed government cooped up in an enclave of the capital city.
The EU launched the mission in April as a supplement to the international naval operation against Somali pirates harassing international shipping in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.However, EU officials acknowledge the newly trained troops will be used first by the Transitional Federal Government as it tries to break the siege led by the Al Qaeda-allied Al Shabaab militia.“Mogadishu (is) where they really need the assistance and the help to fight against the Al Shabaab,” Elul said in an interview at his headquarters in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.“They are mainly focused right now on trying to gain control of Mogadishu ... The international community has to play a paramount role in trying to solve the problem by helping the federal government.”Western nations view Somalia’s chaotic civil war between shifting coalitions of militias as a quagmire too far for their own troops, so an African Union force led by Uganda is protecting the government district in Mogadishu. Uganda has also taken a lead in training pro-government soldiers, but the EU believes it can add value with a mission focused on specialized training for officers and NCOs. Training in Somalia is judged too dangerous for European troops, so Uganda agreed to host the mission.The notion that soldiers from peaceful Portugal, Finland or Hungary can improve the fighting ability of troops whose combat skills have been sharpened by 19 years of civil war has been met with some skepticism. However the Somalis being put through their paces in Uganda say they can see the benefits.
“This European Union training is better than any we’ve had before,” said Mosa Ali-Ulusow, 35, a teacher who joined the government forces in 2007.
“Al Shabaab are not anything and if enough Somalis get this sort of training, the government will capture the country,” he said after an afternoon of instruction from a pair of Swedish instructors.“We’re learning about firing positions, telecommunications and tactics, but also about human rights and how to resolve problems in society. That’s also important.”
Inside Somalia: Al Shabaab, ally of Al Qaeda