Uganda's Challenge to the U.N.

Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said Nov. 1 that his country has decided to pull out of the African Union's peacekeeping missions in Somalia and elsewhere, New Times reported. Mbabazi's statement was in response to a leaked U.N. report accusing Uganda and Rwanda of arming a rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kampala is the largest contributor to peacekeeping forces in Somalia. Its exit from the country would damage the newly formed Somali government's ability to provide security and would severely undermine the entire mission.

However, since a withdrawal from Somalia could negatively affect Uganda's wider regional interests, Kampala is unlikely to follow through on its threat. Instead, Mbabazi's statement reflects an intent to use Uganda's critical role in the peacekeeping mission as leverage. Uganda wants to force the United Nations to retract the leaked report's findings and more broadly to stop interfering in Uganda's regional affairs. Given the West's concern about jihadist activity emanating from the horn of Africa, maintaining the Ugandan presence in Somalia will probably take precedence over any concerns about Kampala's alleged activities in the Congo.