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The commander of African Union forces in Somalia pleaded on Tuesday for reinforcements as the AU's security chief paid a flying visit to volatile Mogadishu.
Ugandan Major General Levy Karuhanga called for more troops after meeting with AU security chief Said Djinnit, who was in the coastal capital for a one-day visit under high security.
Karuhanga, who currently has some 1,500 Ugandan peacekeeping troops under his command spoke as gunmen set off a roadside bomb and attacked a United Nations convoy heading for Mogadishu.
Two UN staff escaped the explosion unhurt, but gunmen immediately opened fire and wounded three policemen who were protecting the convoy, a police official told AFP.
“After we saw smoke and dust and then followed machine gun fire, we immediately sped off to avoid being caught,” Abdi Shidane, a driver on the same road, told AFP.
Karuhanga told journalists at his Mogadishu airport base that more troops were needed to help patrol Somalia, where deadly insurgent attacks have in recent weeks plagued the capital and the southern port town of Kismayo.
“We haven't been able to fully get the full troops for AMISOM (the AU force) to be deployed so we are pleading for the member states of the AU to provide more troops,” Karuhanga said.
The AU aims to deploy some 8,000 soldiers with a six-month mandate to help Somali forces take control of the country. The first Ugandan troops began deploying on March 6.
Burundi has offered 1,700 troops but has said it lacks equipment for the mission. Nigeria has offered 850 troops but has not given details of their deployment schedule.
Malawi and Ghana are also expected to contribute but the AU is still far from reaching the proposed 8,000 figure.
Djinnit on Tuesday held talks in Mogadishu's presidential palace, Villa Somalia, with interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi.
“We paid tribute to the Ugandans who have shown great commitment in deploying the first batch of the stabilisation force,” he said at a press conference, declining to give details of further deployments.
“This visit is also to give moral support to our forces on the ground. We are confident that the people of Somalia will understand the AU mission is the friend of Somalia,” Djinnit said.
Military hardware and the final deployment of Uganda's AU troops docked Monday at Mogadishu port, as nearby mortar attacks killed at least three and injured 12.
Insurgents have vowed to attack the peacekeepers and have already targeted the Ugandans since their arrival on March 6. Two peacekeepers have been injured and flown back to Kampala.
The Somali two-year-old interim government is hoping the peacekeepers will help stabilize Mogadishu ahead of a planned national reconciliation conference next month.
Dozens of people have died since January when joint Somali-Ethiopian forces ousted an Islamist movement from south and central Somalia, including the capital, but suspected Islamist insurgents and allied factions have responded with deadly guerrilla warfare.
The AU force aims to enable Ethiopian troops to leave and Somali forces to take over.
It is the first international peacekeeping venture since United States troops led an ill-fated, UN-backed peace operation in the early 1990s.
Factional bloodletting has wracked Somalia since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, creating a platform for a civil war that has defied more than 14 peace-making attempts.
