Uganda: African leaders, during their meeting in Uganda, called for deployment of additional peacekeeping forces to Somalia to counter Al-Shabaab militant group, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and continues to destabilize the Horn of Africa nation.

According to Qatar News Agency, in the final statement of their meeting, the leaders emphasized the need for additional troops to support the efforts of the existing African Union (AU) forces, which number more than 10,000 soldiers, nearly half of whom are from Uganda. The Somali authorities expressed a desire to include Egyptian forces in the mission but have rejected the participation of Ethiopian troops.

President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, during the meeting, stated that the government's offensive against Al-Shabaab is at a critical stage, calling for continued international support. His Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, also encouraged Somalia to recruit volunteers from its own citizens who are willing to fight the group, which has been waging attacks against government forces for the past 15 years.

The African Union forces have received a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, and several peacekeeping missions have been deployed in Somalia since 2007. However, the latest mission, known as the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which began earlier this year, is facing challenges related to funding and regional disagreements over which countries are authorized to deploy troops on the ground.