Heads of states of African countries and UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon pose for group photograph ahead of the opening of the summit in
Addis Ababa. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP.
ADDIS ABABA
President Uhuru
Kenyatta has called for a review of the African Mission in Somalia
(Amisom)’s mandate to change its rules of engagement as it fights to
eradicate militants in Somalia.
President Kenyatta also
called for more resources for the forces in Somalia so that Amisom
could have robust power on land, air and the sea.
He
said it was sad that the forces deployed in Somalia to face terrorists
and hardened criminals lacked air and maritime components in a country
that has a coastline of more than 3000 km.
President
Kenyatta, while addressing the African Union Peace and Security Council,
said Amisom has made gains from the time it deployed forces in Somalia
but now was the time to change gear and allow the soldiers in Somalia to
root out the terrorists to enable the Federal Government of Somalia to
recover the entire territory.
“The objective was to
support the Federal Government of Somalia to recover the entire
territory of Somalia by 2015, in time for the 2016 general elections.
“It
is clear that this objective has not been achieved and it points to the
need to vary the mandate of AMISOM,” the President said.
“In
order to achieve this strategic objective, Amisom requires a reviewed
mandate to enable its troops match the changing tactics,” said the
President.
STEPS AHEAD
President
Kenyatta said terrorists were changing tactics and security forces in
neighbouring countries, as well as Amisom, should take necessary action
to stay steps ahead.
He said Kenya managed to foil many
planned terror attacks after it established inter-agency modalities
that enable security forces to detect and destroy terrorist plans.
The
President said the mutating threat of the terror attacks facing the
region became evident this month with the attack of the Amisom base in
Somalia.
He said that while terrorism was a global problem, the attack showed that Somalia was an arena of terrorism.
“In
order to fight it therefore, all of us must continue the difficult and
daunting task of identifying, separating, tracking and deterring the
enemy wherever they may be found,” said the President.
FIVE-POINT PROPOSAL
President Kenyatta presented the Peace and Security Council with a five-point recommendation.
First, he sought a review of Amisom mandate to match Al-Shabaab’s mode of warfare.
Second,
he wanted the Peace and Security Committee to ensure that Amisom fully
deploys troops in their respective areas of jurisdiction especially Gedo
region in Sector 3 and review the sector allocations.
Third,
he wanted the AU should ask that the UN and international partners
provide the necessary force multipliers to Amisom for better operational
capabilities.
Fourth, the President sought a predictable, adequate and sustainable funding for Amisom, through the UN assessed contributions.
On
his fifth point, President Kenyatta said it was important to provide
resources to provide housing, jumpstart livelihoods and offer support
for initiatives that increase productivity in liberated areas in order
to accelerate the return of refugees into Somalia.
SOUTH SUDAN, BURUNDI CONFLICTS
The President also spoke on the situations in South Sudan and Burundi.
He
called on the leaders in South Sudan to be honest in implementing the
peace accord they entered into. He at the same urged the AU to put
pressure on the warring sides to opt for peace.
“I am
optimistic that this council will come up with decisions that guarantee
humanitarian access to affected populations and exert the necessary
leverage to all parties to invigorate implementation of the Peace
Agreement,” said the President.
The Peace and Security
Council (PSC) meeting was in two parts. The first part was attended by
all Presidents and dealt with the issues of terrorism and South Sudan.
The second session was attended by Presidents of the countries that are members of the PSC and went late into the night.
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