Manage Somalia to ensure regional peace
Jul 27, 2010
AS we mourn our friends who died in the bomb blasts at Kyadondo Rugby Club and the Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kampala as they watched the World Cup finals, the lesson to all peace-loving Ugandans is that we need to support the Government and UPDF efforts to pacify Somalia.
Patson Baraire
AS we mourn our friends who died in the bomb blasts at Kyadondo Rugby Club and the Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kampala as they watched the World Cup finals, the lesson to all peace-loving Ugandans is that we need to support the Government and UPDF efforts to pacify Somalia.
The chaos in Somalia has, for years, rendered this part of Africa a hub for terrorists, and the insecurity is now spilling over to the whole region.
Somalia’s strategic location has enabled the al Qaeda to penetrate Africa and create pockets of insecurity which are beginning to cause mayhem in the region. They have even warned that more attacks should be expected.
I agree with President Museveni when he says the East African region will not settle while Somalia is still unstable, thus the need to pacify the country.
After the bomb attacks which claimed 76 innocent lives, destroyed property and left many people injured, we cannot talk of withdrawing forces from Somalia, the origin of the trouble.
Indeed, the mandate of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to deal with the insurgents must be increased.
The al-Shabaab, an offshoot of the al-Qaeda, have no ideology to write home about apart from their cowardly attacks on innocent people. Even if they had a political agenda, it would only be prudent they sought round table negotiations to achieve their goals without shedding blood.
The number of these insurgents seems to be growing by the day because there are some financial magnets attracting them, and the sooner they are defeated the better for us all.
Our gallant sons serving in the AMISOM need support and this should be a collective effort by everyone in the region.
In March, a suspected al-Shabaab terrorist was arrested at the Uganda-Kenya border, but was unfortunately released without being questioned. This leaves a lot to be desired.
Regional intervention in conflict-hit areas like the DR Congo, Burundi and Rwanda has, in the past, born fruits both in the areas and the region as a whole, so why not in Somalia.
While attending a funeral ceremony of one of the Kampala bomb blast victims in Kanungu recently, I realised how devastating these acts can be on families. Whereas life must continue, it is everyone’s duty to be conscious about one’s surroundings and report to authorities anything that arouses suspicion. Only then shall we save ourselves and our neighbours.
The writer is a freelance journalist
AS we mourn our friends who died in the bomb blasts at Kyadondo Rugby Club and the Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kampala as they watched the World Cup finals, the lesson to all peace-loving Ugandans is that we need to support the Government and UPDF efforts to pacify Somalia.
The chaos in Somalia has, for years, rendered this part of Africa a hub for terrorists, and the insecurity is now spilling over to the whole region.
Somalia’s strategic location has enabled the al Qaeda to penetrate Africa and create pockets of insecurity which are beginning to cause mayhem in the region. They have even warned that more attacks should be expected.
I agree with President Museveni when he says the East African region will not settle while Somalia is still unstable, thus the need to pacify the country.
After the bomb attacks which claimed 76 innocent lives, destroyed property and left many people injured, we cannot talk of withdrawing forces from Somalia, the origin of the trouble.
Indeed, the mandate of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to deal with the insurgents must be increased.
The al-Shabaab, an offshoot of the al-Qaeda, have no ideology to write home about apart from their cowardly attacks on innocent people. Even if they had a political agenda, it would only be prudent they sought round table negotiations to achieve their goals without shedding blood.
The number of these insurgents seems to be growing by the day because there are some financial magnets attracting them, and the sooner they are defeated the better for us all.
Our gallant sons serving in the AMISOM need support and this should be a collective effort by everyone in the region.
In March, a suspected al-Shabaab terrorist was arrested at the Uganda-Kenya border, but was unfortunately released without being questioned. This leaves a lot to be desired.
Regional intervention in conflict-hit areas like the DR Congo, Burundi and Rwanda has, in the past, born fruits both in the areas and the region as a whole, so why not in Somalia.
While attending a funeral ceremony of one of the Kampala bomb blast victims in Kanungu recently, I realised how devastating these acts can be on families. Whereas life must continue, it is everyone’s duty to be conscious about one’s surroundings and report to authorities anything that arouses suspicion. Only then shall we save ourselves and our neighbours.
The writer is a freelance journalist