Uganda has warned that the United Nations-approved African Union Peace-keeping Mission in Somalia (Amisom) needs to slow down the withdrawal of its troops from the country due to divisions among troop contributing countries, Somali officials and the international community.

Somalia’s government and donor countries want the foreign troops to leave so that Somali security forces can take over control of their country’s security as Mogadishu feels that its military is now strong enough to take on the task – a sentiment not shared by all.

Earlier in the year, several Somali government officials told a summit of troop contributing countries in the Ugandan capital Kampala that they felt their security forces were up to the job.

However, Bigadier Paul L’OKech, the commander of the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) contingent in Somalia, said that in addition to the divisions among troop contributing countries Somalia’s security forces were not yet ready to take over their country’s defence, Uganda’s Daily Monitor reported on Wednesday.

“Yes, they (Somalia National Army) are being prepared, but they have not reached the level where they can take on all responsibility. In some areas, they still need to be trained and it is a process,” L’Okech said.

Uganda was the first country to deploy in Somalia in March 2007 and the UPDF, with 5,700 troops on the ground, constitute the largest contingent in the 22,000-strong Amisom force.

Amisom was initially given six months to stabilise Somalia, starting with the capital, Mogadishu.

Despite the initial time period, the mandate and time frame kept changing due to the continued threat of Al Shabaab which has upped its attacks on Somalia and neighbouring countries despite initial successes in ridding Mogadishu and large swathes of the countryside of the militants.