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African Summit summit due to focus on Somalia

25 July 2010 03:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Heads of state from across Africa are set to meet in Uganda for an African Union (AU) summit likely to be dominated by the continuing crisis in Somalia, APA reports quoting BBC News.

The meeting comes two weeks after more than 70 people died in bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Uganda is one of the main contributors of troops to the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab said it was behind the blasts.

As a result, security for the 15th AU summit has been tightened up with a strong police and military presence in Kampala.

"Following the recent attack in Uganda, we have stepped up our security measures to a level that has never been seen," Deputy Foreign Minister Okello Oryem told AFP news agency.
Call for force

BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says that many African leaders are likely to back a call by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for a more forceful mandate in Somalia.

But there is concern that any offensive against al-Shabab could increase the number of civilian deaths and make the AU mission extremely unpopular with the Somali population, he adds.

Some analysts suggest more troops and more guns are not what are needed in a country which has been destroyed by more than two decades of fighting.

But trying to enter into dialogue with the Islamist insurgent groups looks to be a hugely challenging task, our correspondent adds.

About 5,000 AU troops from Uganda and Burundi are based in Mogadishu, propping up the fragile interim government.

The Amisom [African Union Mission in Somalia] force is engaged in frequent firefights with insurgents that control much of southern and central Somalia.

The Somali crisis has overshadowed the AU summit’s official theme, which is "Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development".

Other topics likely to figure include closer trading links with China.

Pre-summit meetings with foreign ministers began on Thursday.

Foreign dignitaries attending the summit include US Attorney General Eric Holder.

Speaking on the even of the summit, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the future growth of the world economy was reliant upon the development of Africa.

Mr Brown said he wanted to see the continent achieve its full potential.

"As we struggle to find new sources of growth we must turn here, to Africa, to this continent of huge potential and talent," he said.