Garowe Online (Garowe)

Somalia: Ugandan President to Visit Mogadishu

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is for the first time scheduled to visit Somalia's restive capital Mogadishu where he is expected to hold talks with his Somali counterpart and inspect the peacekeeping operation of African Union troops.

Confidential sources say Museveni's visit is meant to boost the morale of the Ugandan peacekeepers serving in the UN-backed AU mission in Mogadishu.

"The president will visit Mogadishu and talk to our troops," said top Ugandan defense official who declined to be named.

Uganda, one of two only Africa Union peacekeeping troops contributor to Somalia after Burundi, has some 2050 troops that make up the 5,100-strong African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM).

The troops are mandated to guard strategic sites in Mogadishu such as air port, seaport and Somali Presidential Palace Villa Somalia where the embattled Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is housed.

Somali president is reportedly in preparation mode to welcome his buddy who has been offering his unconditioned support for his fragile but internationally recognised government and according to unconfirmed reports, Museveni's trip is scheduled on early December.

Ahmed has travelled to Uganda several times since his election early this year, and held talks with Museveni and other government representatives.


Copyright © 2009 Garowe Online. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 130 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.

Comments Post a comment