I believe Ambassador Augusto, the chair of African Union peace and Security Council, in fact addressed the burning question in relation to AMISOM troops in Mogadishu in a rational way free from the rhetoric culture of the international civil servants of the AU. His recommendation for the AU to re-evaluate AMISOM project in general and its mandate in particular strikes the right key towards untangling the mission caught in the killer net.

My heart goes with the families and friends on both sides to this conflict that lost their love ones in this war between the Somali Nationalists and the remnants of the forces which are perceived as invaders. The blame should be directed where it truly belongs and I have no doubt it is no one else other then the AU who sent the AMISON troops without a clear and definite mandate. The resulting sad lost of life can be pointedly credited squarely to the incompetence of the AU. The AU must be held responsible for what have happened and what will ensue in Mogadishu and its surroundings as this is the consequence of a poorly conceived and blindly implemented policy from the side of the institution which stands as the authority of African affairs.

To be eligible to be seen as peace keeper you must obtain duly signed document, to that effect, by the belligerent parties which the AU calculatingly ignored to appease the demand of the American Government. AMISON as we are aware has been a force assembled and tasked to prop up and install in Somalia a foreign entity manufactured in Kenya and later in Djibouti by foreign nations marketed under the brand name of TFG. AMISOM by design is not an impartial force but the military arm of the imported TFG which makes it a legitimate target for the national resistance forces.

The Ambassador’s call for the reassessment of AMISON project, although very late, is the first step in the right direction. To entertain the thought of AMISOM contingent being able to withstand the attacks from the forces that chased away the powerful invading force from Ethiopia is just incomprehensible and is as laughable as the statement of the AMISON commander, Gen. Okelo “the situation on the ground is under control, despite the incident”. At the time of this writing half of Mogadishu is on fire and the death toll among the civilians is mounting by the hour and yet the General in charge of the operations is barefacedly spreading disinformation in the comfort of his beautiful office in Addis Ababa instead of pulling out his troops while the opportunity is there.

The recent casualties on AMISOM troops is a prelude for countless body bags and live hostages to come in the very near future because the contingent is no longer working in the safety of the buffer zone created by the Ethiopian army. The TFG troops are fighting along side them as they used when the Ethiopian army was in the firing line and of course they should expect to meet the same or most probably even far worse then the fate of the Ethiopian army. Unlike the AMISOM contingent the Ethiopians has the strength to withdraw to their borders in the time of their choosing in an organised way with out a call for international rescue and assistance.

In conclusion I would like to remind my readers that the current Ugandan and Burundian contingent who were tasked mainly to guard government facilities in the safety of the buffer zone created by the now defunct mighty Ethiopian force have neither the strength nor the experience to show their faces in the firing line. I believe the AU must understand that it has legal and moral obligation to look after the safety and security of these soldiers. Soliciting American logistics to evacuate them with in a weak or so is the only venue open for AU officials as the cost of overstaying in Somalia is becoming exceedingly expensive by the hour.