Ugandan local reports said that Alvarion and Foris Telecom Global launched 4G networks in Uganda and Mozambique. The result could be a renewed push to move the new mobile technology into Africa as a whole.
When contacted, both companies said they could not immediately speak to the media about the 4G contracts, but one official did confirm that the companies are planning to make a joint statement this week to reveal the full nature of the 4G networks in both countries.
According to one technology reporter in Kampala, the new network will enable broadband service to both businesses and personal homes. Also, the reporter said that according to their sources, both countries’ local governments are looking at using the new 4G network.
Alvarion president and CEO Eran Gorev noted that the company has over 70 commercial 4G deployments in Africa in a press statement, but did not elaborate.
This development will transform the region and increase economic development. Having access to information and internet access is crucial in today’s globally connected world.
The benefits of 4G have yet to completely blossom, for the implications of a 4G network may be larger than we currently understand. Remember what cell phones did for the telecommunications industry; globally, there are now more than five billion cell phone subscriptions, and more people are expected to own cell phones by 2011 – making land line phones practically obsolete.
If developed successfully, 4G wireless Internet service may set a similar pattern, forcing wired Internet providers to expand their value and services if they want to stay relevant. More importantly, with the Internet potentially available to everyone everywhere, barriers are removed, collaboration is improved, and the market may feature a wider assortment of novel applications and tools to make use of this ubiquitous connection.
4G represents an evolution in the way we use the Internet, and the future certainly looks bright.
Chinese ambassador to Uganda, Sun Heping, said his country’s assistance to Uganda’s infrastructure and oil industry development will continue.
Speaking to a Chinese news agency earlier this week, Heping said: “The Chinese government has attached great importance to the development of infrastructure in Africa, Uganda in particular, and made it one of the key areas of cooperation in the framework of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum.”
He added that the cooperation provided a platform for dialogue and for the implementation of several projects between China and the African nations covering areas such as infrastructure, education and health funded by grants and preferential loans.
Referring to the proposed Kampala-Entebbe highway project – a first for Uganda – Heping said governments in both countries were in close touch and progress to see the project become operational this year was satisfactory.
He said: “The project is currently in preparations stage and will get underway in 2011 if everything keeps at the current pace,” he said.
China will fund the highway project , expected to cost $350 million, through preferential loan. Once completed, the highway is expected to provide an alternative route linking the country’s capital and its international airport at Entebbe, about 40 kilometres south of Kampala.
Beijing also reiterated its committment to providing all assistance to Uganda in developing the country’s nascent oil industry.
Heping said: “China aims to assist Uganda build its own oil industry through participation in the production of oil products and assisting the country to attain its Millennium Development Goals before 2015 the Unites Nations’ target years.”
China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), one of China’s three major national oil companies, intends to partner with Total and Tullow in building an oil refinery in the western part of Uganda.
China’s continues its help in development and infrastructure building up in Africa. The Chinese are heavily investing throughout the continent. Their soft power plans are openly welcomed especially in countries that need that crucial infrastructure development assistance.
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - Ugandan People's Defence Air Force Chief Major General Jim Owoyesigire (left) shakes the hand of Major General Margaret Woodward, commander of 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa), during his visit to 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa) and Team Ramstein November 10, 2010.
Ugandan People’s Defence Air Force Chief Major General Jim Owoyesigire visited 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa) and other units at Ramstein Air Base and at Spangdahlem Air Base November 9-11, 2010, marking the first visit of an African Air Chief since 17th AF stood up in October 2008 as the air component for U.S. Africa Command.
The series of meetings and orientations were the latest step in the strengthening of an “already fantastic” relationship with the UDPAF, according to 17th AF Commander Major General Margaret H. Woodward.
“We’re very proud of the relationship we have enjoyed with the UPDAF, but this visit has taken it to a higher level,” she said. “We had very good opportunities for General Jim [Owoyesigire] and I to learn from one another. General Jim likes to talk about how much he’s learned from us, but I think the reverse is also true. We only get stronger when we learn other perspectives, so it’s been very productive.”
Sharing expertise has been a consistent theme of the interaction between 17th AF and the UPDAF, according to Owoyesigire, who explained that 17th has intensified the cooperation that was previously conducted by U.S. European Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe.
The Ugandan Air Chief said he began learning from the U.S. Air Force during a visit to Ramstein in 2007, when the base hosted an African Air Chief’s conference, and gleaned more during this visit to propel his young force, now in its fifth year as an independent branch of the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces.
“This experience has enhanced my own capability as a commander,” Owoyesigire said. “I hope I can go back and put this into implementation to improve our UPDAF.”
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - (Left to right) Captain Jeffrey Gipson of the 7th Weather Squadron demonstrates weather equipment used in contingency environments to Ugandan People's Defence Air Force Chief Major General Jim Owoyesigire and Deputy Operations Coordinator Major Chris Kasaija during a visit by the Ugandan Air Chief to 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa) and Team Ramstein November 10, 2010.
Despite the UDPAF’s developing status as an independent force, it is, like the rest of the Ugandan forces, part of a dynamic and influential nation in the east African region, and a major player in security and stability in this region, Woodward said. She cited both Uganda’s role in the African Union Mission in Somalia, and their fight against the terrorist organization known as the Lord’s Resistance Army.
“We are obviously very proud of our partners in everything they’ve been doing, especially taking a leadership role in AMISOM in Somalia and taking on the LRA–pushing them back and protecting women and children from some very horrific acts perpetrated by these criminals,” Woodward said.
Help from U.S. Africa Command and 17th AF has been a key enabler for the UPDAF’s contribution to these missions, Owoyesigire explained.
“When we started in AMISOM, we had no airlift capability,” Owoyesigire said. “General Ward came and visited and helped us to partner with the U.S. Air Force to get this airlift capability. To get training, 17th AF came and trained us in loading cargo and airdrops, and this has really helped us.
“This allows us Africans to solve the problems on the African continent. We have eased the suffering of [refugees], providing them food, water and safe passage. We have denied locations where terrorists used to operate from–these are very big achievements for us. We appreciate what AFRICOM is doing here and in other parts of Africa. If the work continues, we move toward living on a peaceful continent,” Owoyesigire said.
The itinerary for the visit included stops at the 86th Airlift and 435th Air Ground Operations Wings and Spangdahlem’s 52nd Fighter Wing, along with the KMC’s Kisling NCO Academy. The presentations centered on sharing expertise in everything from airlift operations and aircraft maintenance to NCO development. General Woodward thanked all the participants, saying that one thing evident throughout was the role of the professional NCO and how a well-trained NCO corps can be the backbone of an air force.
“USAFE and AFAFRICA coming together to put this visit together and make a very memorable experience for General Jim shows how our effective collaboration is a force multiplier, especially in building partnerships,” Woodward said. “We really appreciate our partners here at Ramstein and Spangdahlem taking the time to make such valued contributions to this visit.”
Owoyesigire said lessons learned from the visit will shape the next steps in cooperation between 17th AF and the UPDAF.
This is continued engagement between the Ugandan People’s Defence Force, Ugandan People’s Defence Air Force and Air Forces Africa. This is a follow up meeting that took place this past summer. This continued effort by both sides will only deepen the partnership between the Ugandan armed services and U.S. military.
Japan has agreed to loan Uganda money to improve its Infastructure.
The Japanese government has granted Uganda a concessional loan of $99.3 million to build a new bridge across the River Nile on a route that links much of east Africa’s hinterland to the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa.
Construction of the bridge is expected to commence in 2012 and will take about six years to complete. It will replace an existing one built in 1954 that runs across Uganda’s largest hydropower facility, the Owens Falls Dam.
The existing bridge is past its lifespan and there are fears it could collapse at any time, potentially paralysing economic activity in much of Uganda, Rwanda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan.
“This project is very timely because the existing bridge which is the main gateway for majority of Uganda’s imports and exports has suffered a high wear and tear over the last 58 years,” Finance Minister Syda Bbumba said at a ceremony to sign the loan agreement.
Japan is one of the main sources of credit for Uganda’s infrastructural development and has previously helped finance projects in energy, water and road sectors.
Currently, much of the merchandise trade in east Africa is conveyed in trucks though there are plans for a Kenya-Uganda railway to accelerate trade growth.
Japan is very involved in Infastructure projects around the world. With its economy stagnating, the current Japanese government has developed a policy that is oriented towards exporting technology and expertise on Infastructure projects around the world.
Young Acholi men play basketball at sunset in Kitgum, Nothern Uganda. The town was at the heart of the 20-year LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) war, and now peace has returned people are beginning to resume normal life.
The United States will continue aiding the Ugandan health sector, despite financial slowdown at home.
USA ambassador to Uganda, Jerry Lanier has said in a statement issued today that the dramatic growth in the delivery of health care services throughout Uganda in recent years is a remarkable accomplishment, one in which the United States, through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), plays a key role.
He said that in the past year alone PEPFAR funded the HIV testing of over a million pregnant Ugandan women as a first step in preventing transmission of the virus to their newborns. As of March this year, over 218,000 Ugandans are receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, of which 184,000 are directly supported by the American people.
Lanier said, “The United States is currently investing $280 million a year in Uganda to fight HIV and AIDS. Since 2004, our investment totals $1.4 billion. This high level of funding is particularly significant today in a time of tightening budgets and economic constraints. I am proud of the support that the American people are providing to Uganda to help fight this disease, despite the worst economic conditions in the U.S. since World War II.”
According to him even with this enormous contribution from the U.S., the demand for HIV and AIDS services, especially ARVs, is rapidly outpacing the ability to deliver them to those who are in need. He added that the gap between supply and demand means many Ugandans are unable to get life-saving ARVs when they need them. The need for ARVs is immediate; and the solution to this crisis requires both short-term and long-term solutions.
To address Uganda’s short-term ARV needs, the American people will add new HIV funding above and beyond their current annual budget of $280 million. These new funds, invested over a two-year period, will increase enrollment of new patients on ARVs by at least 36,000 this year, with an additional 36,000 Ugandan patients next year. This means that by 2012, the American people plan to directly support more than 250,000 Ugandans on ARVs. “To be successful, this program also requires a greater partnership with – and engagement by – the Government of Uganda. The success of this effort will influence future funding decisions.”
“With these new funds, America will purchase an immediate shipment of ARVs (ARV Infusion) to the Uganda National Medical Stores and Joint Medical Stores for quick distribution to government and not-for-profit clinics and hospitals to bridge the gap until Global Fund drugs arrive.
“Addressing Uganda’s long-term HIV and AIDS needs requires a renewed commitment from the people of Uganda, the Government of Uganda, the Global Fund and other donors. The U.S. Government is not – and cannot – be the only source of funding for Uganda’s HIV and AIDS prevention, care, and treatment efforts. U.S. aid programs never seek to lead another nation’s response, but to work with host governments to identify opportunities where U.S. support can make a needed contribution. This is an ongoing process.”
Besides Uganda, the U.S. is has also been addressing the long-term need for new donor streams by engaging the Global Fund to better support the HIV response in Africa. Jerry Lanier has promised that the U.S. will continue to assist the Government to identify new funding streams, working with bilateral and multilateral donors.
Uganda government says 10,000 troops are ready to be sent to Somalia if the U.S. funds them.
Uganda’s army spokesman Col. Felix Kulayigye said Wednesday that the forces were trained and ready to go, but that the government lacks financial support.
Uganda and Burundi are the only African countries contributing troops for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia to help the government that battling with islamist militias.
Al-Qaeda linked group Al-Shabaab in Somalia attacked Uganda’s capital Kampala in July killing 76 people.
The group said it was avenging the killing of civilians by the African Union peacekeepers.
The spokeswoman of U.S. Embassy in Uganda Joann Lockard said her country has already provided support to equip an additional 1,000 Ugandan troops.
The U.S. has promised over $185 million to support African Union troops in Somalia, according to the spokeswoman.
On Wednesday the European Commission said it was contributing nearly $60 million to assist AMISOM’s peacekeeping force in the war-torn country. The fund was planned to prevent the security situation from deteriorating.
Last week, the Al-Shabaab spokesman declared a “massive war” on what he labeled “invaders,” an apparent reference to the African Union forces that protect the weak Somali government.
More than 150 people have been killed over the last 10 days during the latest escalation of violence in Mogadishu, according medics.
More than 6,300 African Union peacekeepers are deployed in Mogadishu but can do little more than guard the airport and presidential palace.
Like most regions of the world, Africa is not immune to defense spending. The region seems to be in a low level arms build up. Defense spending world wide actually Increased, and Africa was no exception.
For the peoples of East Africa and the Horn of Africa long accustomed to living with armed conflict as a feature of everyday life, these are indeed uncertain times. During the seven month period between September 2009 and April 2010, reports gleaned from local and international media alike portend an ongoing or impending arms race in the region, as national armed forces within the region ramp up firepower.
SU-27 Fighter bomber
The region itself can best be described as a historically volatile one with most national armies engaged in fighting either full-fledged civil wars or low intensity armed insurrections. Since the formal separation of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1994 following the successful overthrow of the Marxist dictatorship of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam in May 1991 and the subsequent rise to power in Asmara(Eritrea) and Addis Ababa(Ethiopia), tensions have simmered between the two neighboring countries.
Both nations have twice, in the late 1990s and in the early 2000s, fought all-out wars in which hundreds of thousands of soldiers battled against each other and for which hundreds of surplus Soviet-era tanks, field and self-propelled artillery, as well as Mi-24 and Mi-35 helicopter gunships were acquired from nations of the defunct soviet bloc, mainly Russia and Ukraine. While Eritrea acquired a mix of SU-27 and MiG-29 jets Ethiopia responded by purchasing advanced SU-27 jet fighters.
With increased oil profits, Sudan felt that it had to establish military equilibrium among its neighbors, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Sudan has since then acquired a squadron of MiG-29 jet fighters and with technical assistance from China with which she maintains a strategic military, economic and diplomatic partnership, has gone into the local assembly of Chinese military hardware ranging from mortars to towed and self-propelled artillery, T59 and Type 96 battle tanks. The Chinese have also supplied Sudan with WS-2 ballistic missiles.
Between the years 2001 and 2009, Sudan placed orders for and took delivery of a vast arsenal of everything including:
In preparation for a possible return to hostilities, the semi-autonomous government of South Sudan has thus far used the Government of Kenya as proxy in its military procurement drive and has been acquiring surplus heavy weaponry from The Ukraine in 2008 and 2009. This has seen the acquisition of 110 units of T72 battle tanks, 122mm rocket artillery and ZU-series 14.5mm and 23mm anti-aircraft machine guns.
T-72 tanks were part of three weapons shipments from Ukraine “ostensibly consigned to the Kenyan Ministry of Defence” but that were in fact under contract to the Government of Southern Sudan, according to the Small Arms Survey. In addition to tanks, the three shipments in 2007 and 2008 are said to include 122 mm vehicle-mounted rocket launchers, 14.5 mm machine guns, 23 mm anti-aircraft cannon, RPG-7 rocket launchers and AKM assault rifles.
Of course this is increasing insecurity in the region.
The United States is meanwhile warning that shipments of arms into Southern Sudan are heightening insecurity there in the run-up to a referendum that could result in the region’s secession…..
Ms Rice spoke with reporters following a January 26 UN Security Council meeting on developments in Sudan. She said UN officials had indicated that heavier weapons now appear to be reaching the South. Specific information on the shipments has not been provided, Ms Rice added.
Violence is escalating in Southern Sudan, which had been at war with Khartoum for 20 years. The UN reports that more than 2000 people were killed in clashes among tribal militias last year. Some of the incidents involved thousands of heavily armed attackers, the UN says.
International monitors worry that the 2005 peace agreement could break down in the coming months, leading to a resumption of the war that killed an estimated two million Sudanese. Tensions are growing as the antagonists prepare for a scheduled 2011 referendum in the South on the question of whether the region should claim independence. “The international community appears completely unprepared to put out the fire that is likely to start in the event of a [peace treaty] breakdown,” the Small Arms Survey says. “It has singularly failed to prevent ongoing weapons flows into this highly volatile environment to date.”
The US government under George W Bush invested considerable diplomatic effort to bring about the peace agreement. And the Obama administration appears determined to prevent that achievement from coming undone.
The State Department has meanwhile contracted with private companies to help train South Sudan’s armed forces. The US says that arrangement does not contravene the peace treaty, which forbids arms shipments to the South without the joint approval of its government and the Khartoum government.
The Kenyans have also taken delivery of a squadron of fifteen jet fighters which were acquired from Jordan, even though they are obsolete fighter jets to revamp its fleet.
Kenya’s neighbor, Uganda which according to statistics available from the UN Register of Conventional Arms Transfers acquired 100 units of surplus T55 tanks from Bulgaria in 1998, the Kampala authorities have since 2003 received 31 units of BMP-2 armored vehicles from Russia, South African-made armored vehicles, Israeli-made Soltam 155mm field artillery guns and Mi-24 helicopter gunships.
Tellingly, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency on April 5, 2010 carried a report about a deal between the Russian state arms exporter (Rosoboronexport) and the Ugandans for the supply of six units of state-of-the-art SU-30MK2 jet fighter bombers could just be the tonic needed to push the arms race to new heights, as wealthier neighbors such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan will most certainly be taking notes of developments. Uganda though denied reports that it had bought the jets.
The question is how smaller and poorer countries of Rwanda, Burundi and Djibouti will react in the face of the ever-changing military realities in the region remains to be seen. It is however almost certain that with civil wars or insurrection or both so rife across the region – in Somalia, the Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and elsewhere, the rush to acquire arsenals of heavy weaponry does not seem likely to abate anytime soon.
Up north on the continent, the rivalry continues between Morocco and Algeria. Libya is also getting in the game as well. According to SIPRI data, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia accounted for around three per cent of global arms imports for the period 2005-2009, but the volume of major conventional arms delivered to North Africa in 2005-2009 has increased by 62 per cent in comparison with 2000-2004. Algeria accounted for around 89 per cent of transfers to North Africa during this period, rising from 18th to 9th largest recipient of major conventional weapons globally. However, Morocco has placed significant orders in 2008 and 2009, leading to concerns that Algeria and Morocco are entering into what is regarded as an ‘arms race’.
Like Algeria, Libya has enjoyed increased revenues from natural resources and has enjoyed being courted by major arms suppliers in recent years. It was expected that after the lifting of the UN arms embargo in 2003 Libya would seek to modernize, upgrade and replace some of the significant quantity of major conventional weapons that had been acquired in the 1970s and 1980s.
However, for the period 2005-2009, Libya was the 110th largest arms importer in the world, according to SIPRI data. Libya is not expected to lag behind its neighbours with regard to holdings of modern military equipment for long. Ghaddafi has enjoyed the attention lavished upon him by visiting heads of state from France, Italy, Russia and the UK in recent years, and each head of states has been accompanied by arms company representatives and rumours of multi-billion dollar deals for arms and military equipment.
Early this year in February, Libya signed an arms deal with Russia.
The most contentious weapons system that Moammar Gadhafi’s regime will acquire in the deal announced in Moscow Saturday is the S-300PMU2 air-defense missile, one of the most advanced in the world….
According to Russia’s Interfax news agency, Libya is to get two batteries of the S-300.
It will also receive 20 military aircraft — 12-15 Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighters, four Su-30s and six Yakovlev Yak-130 combat training aircraft — according to Russian sources.
At a cost of $1 billion, the jets account for the bulk of the Libyan purchase.
Tripoli will also get several dozen T-90 main battle tanks and upgrades for more than 140 Soviet-era T-72 tanks, which are almost obsolescent now, and other weapons systems.
In March 2008, Morocco purchased of 24 F-16 Block 52+ fighter jets from Lockheed Martin at a cost of $2.4 billion dollars. The purchase was in response to Algeria’s March 2006 $8 billion military-technical cooperation agreement with Russia $1.3 billion of which was allotted for the purchase of 29 single-seater MiG-29SMT fighters and six two-seater MiG-29UB fighters.
Algeria terminated the contract in 2007 upon receipt of the first batch of MiG-29s which, after a technical inspection, were deemed defective and of inferior quality than stipulated. To redeem itself, Russia renegotiated the contract and offered Algeria new MiG-35 Fulcrum fighter aircraft and 16 Su-30 Flanker fighters. The Russian government also approved a $2.5 billion contract between Irkut Corporation and the Algerian government to supply the latter with 28 Su-30MKA fighters by 2010.
In June 2009, The Algerian ministry of defense signed a contract with Agusta Westland, an Italian company of the Finmeccanica Group, to purchase 100 helicopters of various nomenclatures for its gendarmerie, police, and civil protection agency. The Finmeccanica Group is already committed to equip the Algerian navy with 6 AW101s helicopters and 4 Super Lynx 300 MK 130.
In October 2008, Morocco ordered 4C-27J tactical transport aircraft from Italy.
On September 9, 2009, Morocco was able to secure congressional approval for the purchase of support equipment and weapons for the F-16C/D Block 50/52 in conjunction with its F-16 contract with Lockheed Martin. The package is valued at $187 million and includes 28 AGM-65D Maverick missile, a tactical, air-to-surface guided missile designed for close air support, interdiction, and defense suppression mission against a variety of tactical targets. It is developed by Hughes Aircraft and Raytheon.
An F-16 can carry up to 6 Mavericks. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, a government entity that promotes military-to-military contacts in support of U.S. foreign policy and national security interests, has indicated that Morocco was also approved for the purchase of 60 enhanced Guided Bomb Unit-12 (GBU-12) Paveway II, a laser guided bomb (LGB) that utilized a Mk82 500-pound general purpose warhead and 28 M-61 vulcan cannons, a Gatling-style rotary gun produced by General Dynamics.
Additionally, Morocco requested the installation of communications, air combat pods, targeting pods, ground stations, night vision goggles (NVGs), joint mission planning systems, and radar warning receivers. This latest procurement will increase the interoperability between the U.S. and Morocco and enhance asset capabilities in bi-lateral terrorism prevention operations in the region.
Morocco then in October of that year, signed a contract to buy three CH-47D Chinook helicopters and associated parts, equipment and logistical support for an estimated cost of $134 million.
Earlier this year, a Moroccan air force delegation led by Colonel M’hamed Saufi toured Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Personnel from Morocco’s Royal Air Force are currently being trained at Luke’s and 162nd Fighter Wing airbase in Tucson, Arizona on the mission support, maintenance of F-16 and the organizational elements involved in the base operations of a fighter wing, i.e., civil engineers and fire department, communications, logistics readiness, security forces, and base services. Morocco is currently building an air force base specifically designed to support F-16 operations.
It is worth noting that, with $5.4 billion worth of arms contracts, Morocco is the third top-buyer of military hardware and weaponry in the developing world in 2008, surpassed only by United Arab Emirates, with $9.7 billion in arms deals, and Saudi Arabia, with $8.7 billion. The United States holds 70.1 percent of the arms market; its arms sales in 2008 totaled $29.6 billion. Russia comes in a far second with $3.3 billion.
Considering that Morocco and Algeria are embroiled in a diplomatic dispute over “Western Sahara,” analysts are voicing serious concerns that the two countries are gearing up for an arms race that will upset the delicate status quo balance of the increasingly
bifurcated Maghreb.
The sad news is that neither, Algeria, nor Morocco, will get to use those expensive jet fighters. Both countries are neither in peace, nor war. It’s a waste of money and resources. For the both countries who suffer major unemployment crisis, a poor infrastructure (Algeria), and foreign exchange reserves (Morocco), they better focus their resources on what matters most: fighting corruption, promoting small business, and increasing trade between them.
Libya on the other hand is just trying to increase its prestige and lets not forget khadafi is sometimes……well not the most rational leader.
Egypt is also upgrading its fleet of F-16 fighter jets. The Egyptian Air Force is the 4th largest F-16 operator in the world, mustering about 195 aircraft of 220 ordered.
African leaders at a African Union meeting in Uganda pledged to increase the number of troops to fight the insurgency in Somali.
KAMPALA, Uganda — African leaders are pledging thousands of new troops for Somalia to fight al-Qaida-linked militants responsible for the twin World Cup bombings that killed 76 people, and the U.S. says it will help bankroll the military campaign.
But internal documents obtained by The Associated Press show that that African Union forces and Somali troops don’t trust one another, and that Somalia’s government “lacks consistency, coherence and coordination,” raising questions about whether more AU troops can solve the Somali impasse.
African leaders and U.S. officials called for stepped-up efforts in Somalia as an African Union summit here concluded Tuesday. The summit opened only days after the July 11 bombings in Kampala, an attack that prompted Uganda’s president to call for Africa to band together against Somalia’s militants.
Al-Shabab, Somalia’s most-feared militant group, claimed responsibility for bombing two sites where people were watching the World Cup final game on television, and said the blasts were in retaliation for civilian deaths caused by African Union troops in Mogadishu. They also have vowed to attack Burundi, the other African country that has been providing troops to the AU.
At the summit, Africa’s leaders voted to immediately dispatch 2,000 more Ugandan and Burundian troops to the African Union mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, boosting levels from 6,000 to the maximum mandate of 8,000.
The AU has commitments of 4,000 troops — 2,000 from IGAD, a bloc of East African nations, and one battalion each from both Guinea and Djibouti, AU commission chairman Jean Ping said at the summit’s closing news conference. The AU is considering a request to raise the ceiling number for the total number of troops, he said, without giving a figure for the rise.
America’s top official for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson, said that with a stronger AU force the African Union force could defeat al-Shabab, which intelligence officials say has been bolstered by foreign fighters from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“We believe that it is necessary to have more troops on the ground and we in Washington have committed ourselves to support additional troops on the ground in the same fashion that we have supported the existing Burundi and Ugandan troops,” Carson said Monday.
Since 2007, the U.S. has given training, logistical support and equipment worth more than $176 million to AMISOM, and Carson has promised additional resources to Burundian and Ugandan troops without giving a precise figure.
Although the leaders agreed on what to do about the situation in Somali, there is little trust amongst the parties involved.
But an internal report written last month by military experts from IGAD, the bloc of East African nations, cast doubt on the efforts being made by AMISOM troops. The report said there is a lack of trust between AU and Somali forces, and that the effectiveness of AMISOM troops is hindered by the Somali government’s many weaknesses.
“The team found out that there is a misunderstanding and lack of trust between AMISOM and (Somali) security forces and this has caused poor coordination of tasks amongst them,” said the report, which was obtained by the AP. The report also said the Somali government’s approach to its duties “portrays a government with no clear vision.”
Despite that, African Union leaders said they are considering a plan to give the force a stronger mandate and had requested helicopters from Western donors to allow the AU troops to take offensive action against the al-Qaida-aligned insurgents. Currently the peacekeeping forces can only respond to attacks or when they see militants.
That, though, could sour relations with Somalis even more. Internal documents obtained by the AP earlier this month showed that the AU knows the civilian casualties its troops cause in battle are turning Somalis against it.
The article goes onto say the increased US leadership and presence is necessary to stop the region from more destabilization from members of congress.
The U.S. call for more troops comes as members of Congress are taking an increasing interest in the violent Horn of Africa nation, the site of a failed early 1990s U.S. deployment that ended shortly after the military battle chronicled in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”
In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week, 13 House Democrats compared the situation with al-Shabab in Somalia to the Taliban’s in Afghanistan when it allowed sanctuary for al-Qaida to plan the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
“Al-Shabab-controlled territory in Somalia is becoming a safe haven for terrorists from around the world,” the 13 members said. “The United States must not sit back. … Extremists in Somalia have already made clear their intentions to harm us, and if they have not done so already, they will soon seek capabilities to carry out attacks in the United States.”
The letter said the U.S. should offer regional states “extensive financial, material and logistical support” to improve security.
Some analysts, though, said that simply sending in more troops was unlikely to solve the problem.
“The current situation in Somalia just does not call for a large peacekeeping operation,” said David Shinn, former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia. “AU troops cannot police all of Somalia.”
Shinn, a professor at George Washington University and one of the coordinators of U.S. policy in Somalia in the early 1990s, said that the failure of U.S. and U.N. involvement in the country showed large-scale foreign intervention would not work. “That was not the solution then and it will not be now,” Shinn said.
Somalia’s weak transitional government welcomed the commitment of more troops but said that long-term peace in Somalia depends on building up the government’s security forces.
“We really believe strongly that if the Somali government army were given the support they need then AMISOM would only be a kind of supporting force,” Somali Foreign Minister Yusuf Hassan Ibrahim said.
The internal IGAD report, though, showed how far Somalia’s forces have to go. The Somali troops do not have a physical headquarters. Equipment and weapons held by Somali forces, including ammunition, are not accounted for.
Somali “forces are not assigned barracks or camps and are staying wherever they can get accommodation,” said the report, adding that there is “no formal and effective system of receiving and accounting for returning trainees from neighboring countries.”
ENTEBBE, Uganda - Brigadier General Michael Callan, 17th Air Force vice commander, reviews a formation of the Ugandan People's Defence Force in Entebbe, Uganda, May 25, 2010. Members of U.S. Africa Command's (AFRICOM) air component Air Forces Africa met with senior embassy and Ugandan officials to discuss current and future engagement activities between Uganda and the United States.
U.S. Africa Command’s air component, Air Forces Africa, engaged Uganda Airforce to discuss current and future engagement activities between the Ugandan People’s Defence Force and Ugandan People’s Defence Air Force and Air Forces Africa.
ENTEBBE, Uganda, Jun 10, 2010 — As President Barack Obama was signing the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act on May 24, 2010, members of U.S. Africa Command’s air component, Air Forces Africa, were enroute to Uganda for a senior leader engagement event.
Led by Brigadier General Mike Callan, vice commander, the delegation met with senior embassy and Ugandan officials to discuss current and future engagement activities between the Ugandan People’s Defence Force and Ugandan People’s Defence Air Force and Air Forces Africa.
“While the timing of this [signing of the law] was completely coincidental to our visit, it did underscore our purpose in meeting with the country team and Ugandan officials,” Callan said. “We’ve already established a good partnership with Ugandan forces in military-to-military engagement. As we look down the road, discussions at the senior level will better guide the nature, scope and timing for future events.”
Accompanied by key staff members from the Plans and Programs Directorate as well as the unit’s command chief master sergeant and public affairs officer, Callan began the visit with a tour of the airfield and logistics hangars at Entebbe Air Force Base. During the tour, the team met with a representative of the U.S. State Department-contracted DynCorp which supports the UPDF with aerial resupply and troop movements of Ugandan, Burundian, and Somali forces in and out of Mogadishu supporting the United Nations-African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
“Uganda is one of only two countries supporting the UN’s AMISOM mission currently,” Callan said. “Though the airlift is contracted, it is good to have the understanding of those ground-based missions and capabilities of the UPDF as we pursue future air force and joint initiatives.”
While the UPDF boasts a professional, well-trained army, their air forces are in essence only five years old and looking to build capacity. “We’ve been working with their army forces for some time, providing great training opportunities through the Department of State-funded International Military Education and Training, or IMET program, and multi-national peacekeeping operations. Now they would like for us to do that with their air forces,” said U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Greg Joachim, Defense and Army Attache, U.S. Embassy Kampala.
Members of the 17th Air Force Plans and Programs Directorate are looking closely at just such opportunities as they develop long-range plans with Uganda. IMET can cover courses ranging from leadership development to undergraduate pilot training and maintenance and logistics, explained Lt Colonel Joachim. As the air component for U.S. Africa Command, “17th Air Force brings focus to those much needed air force activities, which we really need,” he said.
U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Jerry Lanier, echoed these comments during an office call with the Air Forces Africa team. Highlighting the LRA issue, as well as Somalia and Sudan as on-going priorities requiring a multi-year process, he praised the current security relationship. “We’re very glad you’re here working with the Ugandans,” he said. “The military is a dominant institution in this country and this is a key relationship. The Ugandans are ready to move forward in building capacity for their air force, and when they say they will do something, they will do it.”
Major General JB Owoyesigire, commander of Ugandan People’s Defence Air Forces, said his nation welcomes the concern of Barack Obama and signing of the new law to assist with the defeat of the LRA.
“You supported us in our fight against HIV and now the LRA,” he said. “Joseph Kony is a son of Uganda, and therefore our responsibility and we will take care of that.”
In building the capacity of his nation’s air force, the general highlighted his desire for expanded training and engagement opportunities in areas ranging from military education courses such as Air War College and Squadron Officers School, to technical fields such as pilot training, aircraft maintenance, flight medicine, aerial intelligence and accident investigation. His dream for the future is to build a Ugandan academy for air force officers that will take them through military education from cadet to general.
When discussing the potential for not only Uganda, but other African nations, General Owoyesigire is very direct.
“African nations do not need to wait for others to come in to help them,” he said. “African nations need to do things for themselves. We are building our Air Force, and we would like your support in doing that,” he said.
Alvarion’s 4G network is being rolled out across Uganda.
n operations in the region.
