Gen. Mugisha Muntu, a former military officer, bush war veteran, former commander of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), and opposition politician, has urged the Ugandan soldiers who are part of the peacekeeping mission in Somalia (ATMIS) not to go weary or cave to the pressure from Al-Shabaab terrorists but to fasten their belts.
According to Gen. Muntu, this is not the time for the UPDF to call it quits and back out, but study and assess the situation and change in strategy where necessary.
“We would rather study the situation, and if it requires applying different strategies, then we do. My hope and wish is that we would not get exhausted and bow to pressure mounted by Al-Shabaab,” stated Gen. Muntu.
He further stated that some people who think they are experts on Somalia’s problems will begin calling on the Ugandan troops to pull out and return home. But that will mean your efforts of the previous years were wasted.
“Right now we have to rethink our failures and do our best without tiring out,” said Muntu.
However, Dr. Besigye, while appearing on a talk show on May 27, 2023, called upon the troops to withdraw from Somalia and suggested that a war against Al-Shabaab would never succeed.
“It is the responsibility of Somalia’s people to address their own problems; a war with Al-Shabaab can never be won, Ugandan troops are wasting time there; they should just come back home,” said Besigye.
Al-Shabaab, an extremist Islamic militant group, emerged from the Islamic Courts Union, a previous movement that held much of southern Somalia between 2006 and 2007, consolidating power through a combination of violent means and social welfare initiatives,.
The African Union recognized the deteriorating security situation in Somalia and the region, and the AU Peace and Security Council acknowledged the need for a peacekeeping intervention, giving birth to the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMIS). However, due to several constraints, it became difficult to operate effectively.
In 2007, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to deploy a larger peacekeeping force, leading to the birth of the African Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), whose primary mandate was to provide support to the federal government of Somalia. Played its part, and in 2022, it transitioned to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), whose mandate is to support the federal government of Somalia in the implementation of transferring security responsibilities to Somali security forces.
Yusuf Serunkuma, a political analyst, notes that Uganda’s involvement in Somalia is based on the Pan- African Ideology and principles , UPDF was among the first teams of peacekeepers to join ATMIS, and with other teams from the region, a lot has been accomplished in the Somalia and the region at large.
Serunkuma stated that undermining the role that these peacekeepers are playing in Somalia will not only hinder the advancements made but also jeopardize the Pan-Africanism that Uganda holds most dear as one of its guiding principles.
On May 26, 2023, terrorists attacked the forward operating base (FOB), in Buulo Mareer, southwest of Mogadishu in the lower Shabelle region, killing 54 soldiers; however, on May 30, 2023, the soldiers reorganized and, with re-reinforcements, fought back and reclaimed the base from the Al-Shabaab.
