Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called for action against the Islamist Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab that claimed responsibility for the recent deadly bomb attacks in Kampala, dpa quoted him as saying as an African Union summit got under way here on Sunday. Many leaders have gathered for the three-day summit in the Ugandan capital two weeks after twin suicide blasts killed 76 people watching the football World Cup final in the city on July 11. The attack was the first on foreign soil by al-Shabaab, which claims links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The insurgents said they carried out the bombings in retaliation for the presence of Ugandan peacekeepers in the Somali capital Mogadishu. "These terrorists can be and should be defeated," Museveni said at the beginning of the summit. "Let us act in concert and sweep them out of Africa. Let them go back to Asia and the Middle East where they came from." Museveni said the organizers of the attack had been arrested and that interrogations were revealing "useful information." Security has been stepped up for the summit after the bombings, particularly given al-Shabaab's threat to carry out more attacks. The theme of the summit is maternal, infant and child health and development in Africa, but the main topic has been overshadowed by the regional threat posed by Somalia, where analysts say foreign fighters are setting up camp. "Terrorism has no place in Africa, it has no place in the developing world," AU chairman and Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika told the summit. "Let us all condemn these acts." Peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are propping up Somalia's weak Western-backed government, while al-Shabaab and its allies control much of the chaotic Horn of Africa nation. Museveni wants to raise the strength of the force to 20,000 and change the mandate to allow the peacekeepers to go after the insurgents. He is expected to peddle this idea at the summit. -- SPA
