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Somalia's interim government 'needs more time' - Uganda | Somalia's interim government 'needs more time' - Uganda |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said Somalia's transitional government should be given another year to consolidate gains against militants. | Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said Somalia's transitional government should be given another year to consolidate gains against militants. |
Otherwise, Uganda will withdraw its troops helping the government fight Islamist al-Shabab militants, he said. | Otherwise, Uganda will withdraw its troops helping the government fight Islamist al-Shabab militants, he said. |
The current mandate for the UN-backed government is due to expire on 20 August and the UN is calling for elections to be held quickly. | The current mandate for the UN-backed government is due to expire on 20 August and the UN is calling for elections to be held quickly. |
Mr Museveni said polls this year would allow the militants to reorganise. | Mr Museveni said polls this year would allow the militants to reorganise. |
Somalia's interim government and parliament are riven by deep political divides. | |
Earlier this year the government voted to extend its mandate by a year, but some MPs have objected to the move, saying only parliament has the authority to postpone elections. | |
The current parliament, chosen during a peace conference in 2004, voted to extend its mandate in February for three years. | |
'Win-win situation' | |
Uganda currently contributes about 5,000 troops to an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, called Amisom, in Somalia. Burundi supplies the rest of the force. | Uganda currently contributes about 5,000 troops to an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, called Amisom, in Somalia. Burundi supplies the rest of the force. |
"It seems to us that the win-win situation for all parties seems to be an extension of the Transitional Federal Institutions for a period not exceeding one year," Mr Museveni told an international meeting on Somalia held in Uganda's capital, Kampala. | "It seems to us that the win-win situation for all parties seems to be an extension of the Transitional Federal Institutions for a period not exceeding one year," Mr Museveni told an international meeting on Somalia held in Uganda's capital, Kampala. |
Elections held too soon, he warned, would "allow the extremists time to reorganise and cause problems and undermine the battlefield gains so far obtained". | Elections held too soon, he warned, would "allow the extremists time to reorganise and cause problems and undermine the battlefield gains so far obtained". |
"If the current system collapses, or if it is seriously undermined, we can have no justification to stay in that situation - we will leave Somalia," he added. | |
Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, a moderate Islamist former rebel, told the International Contact Group on Somalia that the country was too unstable for a vote. He also called for the transitional government's tenure to be extended. | |
The AU force in Somalia deployed to Mogadishu in 2007 to back the weak interim government. | The AU force in Somalia deployed to Mogadishu in 2007 to back the weak interim government. |
Somalia has been wracked by constant war for more than 20 years. Its last functioning national government was toppled in 1991. |
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