by Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- African leaders are calling for the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers to Somalia in a bid to end the chaos that has engulfed the lawless country for nearly two decades.
But while the U.N. has agreed in principle, a deadline has yet to be set and many nations are wary of deploying troops to the anarchic country.
Moreover, some experts argue the deployment of a major U.N. force is unlikely and say the problem will be left to the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) -- an East African organization comprising seven nations.
Somalia is home to the radical al-Shabab movement -- "the youth" in Arabic -- which controls a vast swath of the country's south and is believed to boast around 7,000 fighters, according to Agence France-Presse.
The group, which supposedly has ties to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for a bomb attack Sunday against civilians in Kampala, the capital of neighboring Uganda.
More than 70 people were killed when twin blasts rocked a restaurant and an open area of plastic chairs in front of a big-screen TV where spectators were watching the final minutes of the World Cup. Scores more were injured in the attack.
