MORTARS thunder and donkeys bray as Major Anthony Lukwago Mbusi, a forward commander with African Union troops in Mogadishu, climbs through holes his men have made in the walls of abandoned houses along the front lines in the embattled Somali capital to avoid sniper fire. He is pointing towards the slumped body of an enemy fighter his men have just shot dead across the street, one of many in recent weeks.
A day earlier Major Mbusi narrowly escaped with his life when a mortar landed nearby without exploding. Fired by the Shabab militia—linked to al-Qaeda—it lacked a charge and instead contained a 12.7mm machine-gun cartridge. The Islamist fighters may be finding it hard to supply their lines, he says. In any case, their fortunes seem to be changing.
For the past three years some 8,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops have served under the command of the African Union (AU) in Mogadishu without great effect. They operate under a “peacemaking” mandate bankrolled mainly by the AmericansRead More
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