A battalion of Ugandan troops could be ready to deploy as peacekeepers to Somalia in a few days, a military spokesman said Monday, according to AP. Somalia's prime minister has called for an African peacekeeping force to help his government take control of the country. Maj. Felix Kulayigye, a spokesman for Uganda's army, said 1,000 troops were ready. «We have one battalion prepared to go to Somalia immediately after they are cleared by the ministry of foreign affairs,» he said. A group of seven regional countries, known as IGAD, proposed a peacekeeping force for Somalia two years ago, but fighting inside the country prevented a deployment. The United Nations endorsed the peacekeeping plans last month, but fighting between the transitional government and a rival Islamic movement made any deployment impossible.
