AU peacekeepers reaffirm support for Somali govt

MOGADISHU (AFP) - The top civilian official with the African Union's peacekeeping force in Somalia on Monday reassured the nation's fragile government of its total support in the fight against insurgent groups.



Boubacar Diarra, the AU representative in Somalia, flew into Mogadishu for his first visit since taking office last month, together with UN special envoy Ahmedou Ould Abdallah and AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra.


They were discreetly welcomed upon their arrival by General Nathan Mugisha of Uganda, who commands the AU force here known as Amisom.


Then, wearing flak jackets and helmets, they were driven by convoy to meet President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke.


The internationally-backed government has been boxed into a tiny perimeter in the capital by an insurgency launched in May 2009 by the Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab group and its more political Hezb al-Islam allies.


Sheikh Sharif's fledgling administration has owed its survival largely to the military protection of Amisom, which numbers 5,300 Ugandan and Burundian troops.


"Our commitment to the TFG is total," Malian diplomat Diarra told a press conference, referring to the transitional federal government.


"We are here so that Amisom can completely fill all aspects of its mandate ... and we hope to work in close collaboration with the TFG."


Earlier this month the 53-member African Union renewed Amisom's mandate for six months. The force has been deployed in Somalia since March 2007.


Somali government officials have vowed that a massive offensive is imminent to reconquer Mogadishu and push back the insurgents.


"Amisom together with Somalis are making a real difference; 2010 will be a year of major developments in Somalia," Lamamra said.


UN representative Ould Abdallah argued that Sharif's first year in office had "moved Somalia from a failed state to a fragile state."


He said Amisom "has been more effective with 50 percent less resources than other peacekeeping missions."


Amisom is accused by insurgents of being an occupying force that is bent on introducing Christianity to Muslim Somalia, while it has also been criticised for killing scores of civilians during retaliatory shelling