Reuters

Brigadier Paul Lokech, Ugandan Contingent Commander serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), hands out free mosquito nets to Somali civilians. Picture: Reuters/AU/UN IST PHOTO/Stuart Price

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• Powers to boost progress in Somalia

United Nations - SA joined the rest of the Security Council on Wednesday in unanimously approving a 2 700-man troop increase for the AU force in Somalia, which has recently won a series of battlefield victories against extremist al-Shabaab militants.

This will bring the number of AU troops in Somalia to 17 700. Most of the troops now are from Uganda and Burundi with a few from Djibouti. Kenyan troops, who along with Ethiopians have made a separate incursion in Somalia, will now become part of the AU force, known as Amisom.

“The revised AU-UN strategy for Amisom represents the most pragmatic way forward in view of the prevailing circumstances on the ground,” said Baso Sangqu, SA’s UN ambassador.

Amisom entered Somalia in 2007. Last August it seized control of the capital Mogadishu from the Islamist al-Shabaab militias affiliated to al-Qaeda, in a major victory. Since then it has pushed south, overrunning other key al-Shabaab strongholds.

Al-Shabaab still controls most of the south of the country, complicating aid deliveries during a serious drought there.

The Security Council resolution also bans the export of charcoal from Somalia since al-Shabaab finances itself largely through its export. Amisom is authorised and financed by the UN, though it is an AU, rather than UN force.

The troop increase, which will cost the UN around $500 million (R3.75 billion), comes on the eve of a major international conference on Somalia in London on Thursday.

“This resolution gives Amisom the troops and resources necessary to enable it to effectively capitalise on the gains already made and to increase the military pressure on al-Shabaab,” said Mark Lyall Grant, the British ambassador to the UN.

But Human Rights Watch complained that the resolution did not include a human rights-monitoring group for “increased oversight over Amisom troops to ensure compliance with the laws of war”.

Philippe Bolopion, Human Rights Watch’s UN director said: “While the Security Council has limited influence to stop al-Shabaab abuses, it is doing a grave disservice to Somalia’s long-suffering civilians by not fully addressing Amisom’s violations.” – Independent Foreign Service