Uganda has announced the beginning of the withdrawal of its troops from Somalia after almost two decades of military activity in the country as part of the fight against the al-Shabaab terrorist organization. Uganda's army chief, General Muhozi Kinroguba, son of President Yoweri Museveni, said that security responsibilities are gradually being transferred to the Somali army. Uganda was the first country to send troops to Somalia as part of an African peacekeeping force in 2007 and has since played a key role in the fight against al-Shabaab, an outlawed al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group. Ugandan forces helped push the organization out of Mogadishu and other areas, but it continues to carry out attacks and control large areas of territory. The withdrawal of the soldiers came against a background of financial difficulties and a cut in international funding for the African mission. Somali President Hassan Shihab Mahmoud met with the President of Uganda this week and asked him to delay the withdrawal of troops from strategic areas in the south of the country, fearing that the Somali army is not yet ready to replace foreign troops and that an early withdrawal would allow al-Shabaab to regain control of lost territories.