Hiiraan Online
Monday, March 14, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS (HOL) – The president of the Semi-autonomous Puntland state has poured scorn on the presence of the African Union forces in Somalia as worthless, urging Somalis to grow into a self-reliance status, in an effort to restore peace and order to the horn of Africa nation which is recovering from decades of war.
Deployed in Somalia in 2007, AU forces is locked in a deadly war with Al Shabab group which stepped up its guerrilla attacks across large parts of the country in recent years.
The mission has been criticized for employing a slow military strategy which many believe contributed to the resurgence of one ‘dying’ militant group which carried out numerous major attacks including three complex attacks on AU military bases in Somalia.
“And more importantly, their presence does not actually serve the interest of the Somali people.” He said in a speech delivered at a community gathering in Minneapolis on Saturday.
African Union officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
However, the development comes one month after he European Union which covers the full cost of AU soldiers in Somalia made a 20 per cent cut in payments for the African Union forces in Somalia, prompting a protest by African Union leaders who warned that pay cut would have a “serious adverse effect on the troops’ morale.”