According to a local media report, at least three Ugandan
soldiers have been injured in an attack on African Union troops in Somalia's
capital where the 1,600 peacekeepers are based. AU spokesman Paddy Ankunda told the BBC that soldiers were
guarding Mogadishu's port when
mortars were fired at them. He called for more peacekeepers to enable them to take over
positions under the command of Ethiopian troops. Somalia
has seen a surge in violence since Ethiopian-backed government troops ousted
Islamists last December. Some 1,600 Ugandan troops are in Mogadishu
as part of a planned 8,000-strong AU force to support the interim government. Capt Ankunda said this was the fourth attack on the AU
troops since their deployment in March this year. He also added that it was frustrating that the people they
were protecting were attacking them. "We are not demoralised by the attacks and we are still
here to ensure that we achieve our mission," he told the BBC's Network
Africa programme. But he called for the international community to mobilise
more peacekeepers so they could take over military positions from the
Ethiopians. Insurgent groups and Islamist remnants in Mogadishu
are opposed to the presence of Ethiopian troops who they view as an occupying
force. At the moment Uganda
troops are in charge of security at Mogadishu's
air and sea port, presidential palace and strategic junctions within the
capital. Somalia
has been without an effective government since the civil war began in 1991. The UN says some 400,000 people have fled the violence in Mogadishu
in the past four months.
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