The Ugandan army chief and son of President Yoweri Museveni, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has called for the complete withdrawal of Ugandan troops from Somalia, marking the end of 18 years of the African Union peacekeeping mission.
In a statement posted on social media, Kainerugaba accused the United States of engaging in secret talks with the militant group Al-Shabaab, which he said was undermining the efforts of African peacekeepers in Somalia.
“The United States and the West in general recognize Al-Qaeda in Syria. Do even our brothers in Israel seem to agree with this?” Kainerugaba said.
“We have heard that the United States has engaged in secret talks with Al-Shabaab in Somalia. We will ask the Commander-in-Chief to consider withdrawing Ugandan troops from Somalia after 18 years,” he added.
Ugandan troops are a key part of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia. Since 2007, Uganda has deployed thousands of troops to help stabilize the country and combat Al-Shabaab.
Hamza Warfa, a former adviser to the US State Department, recently said that the US may have secretly opened talks with the Al-Qaeda-linked group Al-Shabaab, which could signal a new shift in US policy in Somalia.
Hamza Warfa, speaking to Universal Somali TV, said that the military approach to fighting Al-Shabaab has reached a dead end, and it is possible that the Trump administration has already begun a plan to directly or indirectly contact the Al-Shabaab group.
