Uganda, Kenya, Somalia meet over al-shabaab

 

Uganda, Somalia and Kenya have agreed on a co-ordinated fight against the Somalia militants, the al-Shabaab.

 

In a communiqué read by the Kenyan foreign affairs minister, Moses Wetangula, after a tripartite summit, the leaders also called for enhanced co-ordination between AMISOM peacekeepers, the Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Kenya army.

 

They noted that al-Shabaab backed by al-Qaeda and other militant groups threaten peace and stability in the horn of Africa if not neutralized.

 

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki hosted President Yoweri Museveni and their Somalia counterpart President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed at State House, Nairobi  for the meeting. 

 

“The meeting emphasised the need for enhancing coordination between AMISOM, TFG forces and Kenya Defence forces in order to successfully defeat Al Shabaab,” Wetangula told journalists after talks by the three leaders.

 

“(The presidents) expressed confidence that the joint Kenya-Somali operation presents the region with a historic opportunity to restore stability and security in Somalia and called for regional solidarity to bring to an end the state of lawlessness that has prevailed in much of Somalia over the last two decades,” the communiqué Wetangula read stated.

 

Militants are fighting the TFG. The Africa Union with the approval of the UN deployed peacekeepers to defend Sharif’s government and restore peace. Uganda and Burundi contribute to the AMISOM force.

 

During the Nairobi meeting, Museveni, Kibaki and Sharif appealed to all nations which had promised to send troops to Mogadishu to do so in order to strengthen the troops on the ground.

 

“(They) noted with appreciation the decision of Djibouti to provide troops to AMISOM by the end of the year, called on other African countries which have pledged troops to AMISOM to urgently fulfill their pledges and welcomed Kenya’s willingness to deploy troops to AMISOM,” Watangula said.

 

 “The meeting reviewed the political and security developments in Somalia and noted that the protracted conflict had generated numerous problems notably terrorism, organized crime, influx of illegal arms, the refugee crisis, internally displaced persons in Somalia,” Wetangula said.

 

“They called on the international community to urgently develop modalities for burden-sharing, and encourage humanitarian aid agencies to relocate to the secure parts of Southern Somalia in order to provide humanitarian assistance closer to the famine-stricken communities of Southern Somalia in a more effective manner,” he explained.