Somalia: AMISOM Contemplates Using Militia to Boost Strength

By FRED OLUOCH

MOGADISHU---The al-Shabaab insurgents can be contained with the help of counter-insurgency with similar tactics. A senior African Union (AU) official revealed that the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) is a considering using local militia to boost their strength, even though it is not the ultimate solution but one of the options to protect the beleaguered government. 

Sivuyile Bam, the Head of the AU Peace Support Operations Division in an exclusive interview noted that the AU has recently moved the Somali issue up in the agenda and that Amisom  has been on the offensive of late  to cover the grounds captured and protects the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

But the ultimate plan is to adjust the mandate of to make it more affective. This decision will have to be made by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) in terms of three components namely; the troop levels, functions and areas of operations. The current Amisom mandate only allows for peacekeeping and not peace enforcement, and to protect the Villa Somalia (Presidential Palace), the Seaport and the Airport. Mr Bam also revealed that the desired troop levels of 8,000 will be realized by December. Currently the troops stand at 7,200 after Uganda beefed up the force. The force is still largely made up Uganda and Burundi contingents, and a sprinkle of police components from a few countries.

About 1,000 Somali police recruits, who are currently undergoing the same training at the school, will be passed out next month and sent to Mogadishu. By December, at least 3,000 Somali soldiers would have been trained in Uganda.

But as the Amisom continue to struggle to contain the al-Shabaab, Kenya is increasingly coming under diplomatic pressure to provide diplomatic or military leadership to help solve the Somalia problem.

Despite having hosted the two-year negotiations that created the TFG, Kenya has largely maintained  a low key foreign policy on Somalia leaving Ethiopia with more visibility. But  worsening situation in Somali has seen Kenya come under pressure  from within to look beyond Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) if she is to safeguard he interests. 

Just like Sudan, there are three reasons for Kenya to act in accordance with her own geopolitical interests. The country has a huge Somali population with close links with Somalia, prestige and leadership as the dominant economy of the region and Kenya has to ensure that Somalia is helped to regain the infrastructure of governance to regain national authority.

Some within AU blame the Kenya authorities  for not acting tough on Somali leaders who spend most of their time in Kenya and remind them of their responsibility to bring peace by limiting access. According to those within the Kenyan leadership that want the country to take the lead, Kenya must  be seen as the big brother with ready solutions.

For instance,  Nigeria has fashioned herself as the big brother  within the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) and will immediately intervene in any threatening situation in the region.

But Mr  Bam disagrees with those pressuring Kenya to act unilaterally and her would rather Kenya limits its her actions to within  AU, Igad and PSC parameters. “In a conflict, you cannot predict how a country is going to respond to situations. You cannot force Kenya top deploy forces if they believe they are not ready. However, it is Kenya’s responsibility to initiate diplomatic engagements to ensure the Somali issue does not get out of the radar screens,” he said.

Previously, Kenya was citing the UN recommendations that frontline states with vested interests in Somalia like Kenya and Ethiopia were not supposed to contribute troops. This position that has since changed with the intervention of AU which argued that  it is the frontline states who are closer to the conflict and are supposed to take the lead or advise on the best way forward. Ethiopia used this window to invade Somalia in 2006.