First AU peacekeepers arrive in Somalia (AFP)

[Eugene]

First AU peacekeepers arrive in Somalia

30 minutes ago

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Ugandan military officers on Thursday arrived in Somalia in the
first contingent of an African Union peacekeeping force to be deployed in the war-
shattered Horn of Africa nation.

It is the first mission since a US-UN peace bid in the mid-1990s ended in failure
and a bloody withdrawal, made famous in the movie Black Hawk Down.

-snip-

"About 30 Ugandans, mainly experts and logistical officers, have arrived in Baidoa.
They were welcomed at the airport by government officials. The airport was sealed
off," a senior police officer in Baidoa told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A government official in Baidoa confirmed to AFP that the first group of Ugandans
had arrived.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070301/ts_afp/somaliaunrest

(Agence France-Presse)

Ugandan force will not disarm Somali militias: Museveni

58 minutes ago

JINJA, Uganda (AFP) - President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday said Ugandan troops
due to become part of an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia would not
seek to disarm militias causing chaos in Mogadishu.

"We are not going to disarm the Somali militias because if we empower the Somali
people, it will be up to them to decide whether it is necessary to disarm," Museveni
told a gathering of around 1,500 troops due to leave for Somalia.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070301/ts_afp/somaliaunrestforce

[maddezmom]

1. Blasts shake Somali capital Mogadishu

Blasts shake Somali capital Mogadishu
02 Mar 2007 09:58:06 GMT
Source: Reuters

Background
• Somalia troubles


MORE >>
(Adds background)

MOGADISHU, March 2 (Reuters) - At least six explosions rocked the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Friday, witnesses said, a day after Ugandan peacekeepers started arriving in the lawless Horn of Africa country.

Witnesses said they heard mortar bombs being fired in the direction of the coastal city's port, in a reminder of the tough task awaiting the African Union (AU) mission designed to help Somalia's interim government pacify the anarchic country.

The assault happened a day after gunmen shot dead three people at the house of the director of Mogadishu's port, the latest in a series of guerrilla attacks in the capital.

http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02188113.htm