Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Five days after Islamist insurgents and clan fighters melted away in the face of heavy fire by Somali-backed Ethiopian troops, AU spokesman Paddy Ankunda said Ugandan peacekeepers were ready to protect humanitarian teams.
"It is within our mandate to offer security to humanitarian workers who will come to Mogadishu to help these people," he told AFP, as he patrolled with a convoy of more than 20 trucks.
"These people urgently need medical help, and our (medical) company has been overwhelmed," he said, as the convoy scouted the city to assess the damage wrought by nine days of clashes that ended Thursday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of residents filed back to their mortar-blasted homes, after having taken refuge outside the city, on the fifth-day of relative calm.
At least 1,400 people, mainly civilians, have died in fighting in recent weeks and up to 400,000 have fled Mogadishu since the start of February.
The UN and the AU have warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe, with many struggling to find basic necessities such as food, clean water and electricity.
Ankunda said the peacekeepers, who currently control the airport, port, presidential palace and "a notorious assasination junction" would soon extend their positions to "secure the whole city".
Some 1,500 Ugandan AU peacekeepers arrived in Somalia on March 6 but the AU has so far failed to deploy the rest of a promised mission of 8,000.
Ankunda said the Ugandan forces were suffering from setbacks caused by the delay in sending troops from other African nations.
"There is no doubt that they are letting us down, but we have been assured that they will come," he said.
Insurgent leaders on Monday vowed to change tactics in the contest for Mogadishu and also to target foreign peacekeepers.
"As long as we are welcomed by the Somali people, we do not feel that we are targets," Ankunda said.
Source: AFP, May 01, 2007