African leaders meeting in Uganda on Friday called for additional peacekeeping forces in Somalia to counter al-Shabab militants.
The summit, held in the capital Kampala, ended with a joint call for reinforcements, with Egypt floated as a possible troop contributor.
Currently, over 10,000 African Union peacekeepers are stationed in Somalia, nearly half of them from Uganda under a UN mandate.
The newest mission, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, launched earlier this year but faces critical funding and political hurdles.
A key disagreement centers on troop contributions, with Somali officials welcoming Egypt but opposing involvement from Ethiopia due to strained bilateral relations.
That tension stems from Ethiopia’s $4 billion Blue Nile dam project, which Egypt fears could reduce its vital share of Nile waters.
Al-Shabab, linked to al-Qaida, has waged a bloody insurgency for over 15 years, relentlessly attacking Somalia’s government and civilians.
Despite a renewed military offensive and U.S. airstrikes, the group continues to target Mogadishu and other key areas with deadly force.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the campaign against al-Shabab has reached “a critical juncture,” calling for urgent international backing.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni urged Somalia to rally its citizens, suggesting that volunteer fighters could tip the scales.
Museveni warned that a small national army supported by a limited foreign force amounts to a “dangerous underdose” fueling chronic insecurity.
The Kampala meeting signals a deepening concern among regional powers as Somalia’s fragile progress teeters on the edge of collapse.