Al Shabaab (“the youth”) terrorists bombed crowds watching a television broadcast of the World Cup Final on 11th July in Kampala, killing 74 people and injuring 70 others. Ugandan soldiers make up a substantial part of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, and hence Uganda was the target for the Islamist Somali militia group’s attack. The group has previously declared war on Western NGOs that distribute food aid in Somalia.
The Ugandan government is now left with the dilemma of how it should respond. Should it withdraw its troops from Somalia in the hope of avoiding further casualties? Should it ramp up its presence in Somalia as a sign that it will not give in to terrorism? Should it invade Somalia, bearing in mind that Somalia has been essentially at the mercy of warlords, and very unresponsive to foreign interference for two decades now, in a manner reminiscent of Afghanistan?
It looks as if the Ugandan government intends to strengthen the presence of its soldiers in Somalia. The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has resolved to send extra soldiers to Somalia to strengthen the African Union, but given that the 7 member countries of IGAD are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Eritrea, and that Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, as neighbouring countries to Somalia, are prevented by UN resolution from sending troops, Uganda is pretty much on its own.