Uganda Reconsiders Pull-out From Somali Mission

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says his country will reconsider plans to pull its troops from Somalia if the AU stabilization mission there moves in the right direction.

Speaking to reporters at the end of a regional security summit in Kampala , Museveni said the military mission in Somalia has not been working successfully.

“Our main reason for going to Somalia was to help the Somali people to create their own army, but after 9 years we have not created the army,” he said.

He added “We cannot support that type of thing, the type of poor planning is something that we don’t support.”

But he says he discussed the issue with AU and UN officials, adding that this time people are serious about building Somalia’s army and if Uganda sees the program is working it will support it.

“We shall not pullout if we are moving the right directions, helping Somali people to build the institutions they need, specially the army,” he said.

Uganda said last month that it plans to withdraw its troops from Somalia at the end of next year.

Uganda deployed troops to in Somalia in 2007, and is the force’s biggest contributor, supplying more than 6,000 of the 22,000 AMISOM troops.