First AU peacekeepers arrive in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, March 6 (Reuters) - Ugandan soldiers landed in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, the first African Union peacekeepers to arrive in a city where the interim government and its Ethiopian allies face almost daily guerrilla attacks. The Ugandans are the first peacekeepers to enter Mogadishu city since a well-funded U.S. and U.N. peacekeeping mission in the 1990s failed and ended in a bloody withdrawal after constant fighting with heavily armed militiamen. About 370 Ugandan soldiers landed at Mogadishu's international airport on Tuesday, most flown in by the Algerian air force in American-made C-130 cargo planes. Last week, 35 Ugandan officers landed in Baidoa, the government's temporary capital in south-central Somalia. The Ugandans are the vanguard of an AU force designed to help Somalia's interim government secure the Horn of Africa country. More are expected to arrive in the coming days to bring the Ugandan contingent to about 1,600. "We are happy that we are here ... we were not attacked as some people expected. We are ready to deploy and defend the Somali people," said Ugandan army Captain Paddy Ankunda, also a spokesman for the AU mission. Two unmarked Russian-made Antonov cargo aircraft also brought three white military vehicles emblazoned with AU markings and two armoured personnel carriers. The AU force, proposed to eventually number about 8,000, is expected to replace Ethiopian troops who helped the government mount a successful December offensive against an Islamist group that seized power in most of southern Somalia for six months. SHORT ON MONEY But as with its first peacekeeping foray, in Sudan's Darfur region, the AU is facing a shortage of money and equipment. "I hope our partners would help us overcome the funding and logistic problems facing the AU," said Said Dijinit, AU's commissioner for peace and security in Addis Ababa. Officials from President Abdullahi Yusuf's government and warlords who had once ruled Mogadishu were at the airport, which was under heavy security. Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi and Burundi are also expected to send troops to join the AU force. The Ugandans are assigned to patrol Mogadishu, one of the world's most dangerous and gun-infested cities. None of the previous 13 attempts at a central government since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have succeeded in taming the city. Somalia has been in anarchy since the coup. Guerrillas who mount almost daily attacks on joint government-Ethiopian forces in Mogadishu have threatened to attack any peacekeepers or government allies. The guerrillas are suspected to be a mix of Islamists and clan militiamen who feel the government does not represent their interests, or who stand to lose control of their fiefdoms if central authority is finally imposed. "Our mission is not to fight, but if the lives of troops are endangered, they have the right to fight back," Djinnit said.