AU Condemns Attacks on Peacekeepers in Somalia | Voice of America - English
The African Union's special envoy for Somalia has condemned the rise in attacks on AU peacekeepers in the country in the past week. He asserted the right of AU troops to defend themselves, but reinforced the mission's neutrality in the country's conflict.
In recent weeks, Somalia'sIslamist insurgents, who since early 2007 have been battling thecountry's transitional government and the Ethiopian troops who back it,have launched a growing number of attacks on African Union peacekeepersin the capital Mogadishu, the center of the insurgency. A seriesof attacks last week killed two Ugandan peacekeepers. This week,insurgents attacked the peacekeepers' positions on three consecutivedays. While the AU has reported no casualties, the group's specialenvoy, Nicolas Bwakira, described the attacks as "unprecedented", andthe peacekeepers have responded with some of the heaviest firepowerthey have used since deploying in February, 2007. Speaking inNairobi, Bwakira described the insurgent attacks as a deliberate effortto provoke a response from the African forces. "Availableinformation indicates that these attacks were a calculated moveintended to draw AMISOM into direct armed confrontation with theinsurgent forces and therefore to appear to be involved directly in theconflict. They were also intended to portray AMISOM as a partisan inthe on-going conflict so that its troops could easily become a targetand subjected attacks," he said. The U.N.'s refugee agency said onFriday that over 80 civilians are believed to have been killed in thisweek's fighting, and 15-thousand people have fled their homes inMogadishu. Some residents have described the peacekeepers'shells hitting civilian targets. Bwakira said the peacekeepers reservedthe right to defend themselves from insurgent attacks, but pledged thatthe force would not take sides in the conflict. "We would liketo reiterate in the strongest terms possible that the African Union isnot in Somalia to fight or to be drawn into conflict we are not partof, we are there as an impartial and neutral peacekeeping force inorder to help Somalis in their quest for peace in their country," hesaid. The AU mission has an authorized force of 8,000 but todate only 2,600 troops from Uganda and Burundi have been deployed, andthe mission has had little success in stemming the conflict. The AUwants the United Nations to take over responsibility for peacekeepingin Somalia, but the U.N. is unlikely to agree to a mission without adramatic improvement in security, fearful of getting bogged down in themessy conflict. Analysts have suggested that the recenttargeting of AU forces by insurgents may be a strategy to discouragefurther foreign intervention in the conflict.