Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to retaliate against Al-Shabaab terrorists for a deadly attack on Ugandan troops in Somalia.
In a statement on Saturday, Museveni said that the attack, which took place on Friday morning, was “unfortunate” and that “some of the soldiers did not perform as expected and panicked, which disorganized them.”
He added that the Al-Shabaab terrorists “were many, about 800 or so according to the UAVs. Hence, it was a missed opportunity, to annihilate them. The operations are continuing, and they will regret their actions.”
Museveni also said that the attack should be used to remind all those concerned that operations in Somalia and other theatres are “combat missions and not welfare missions where you can access UN allowances.”
“It is criminal for anybody involved to send into such a theatre soldier who are either not suited for that mission or not properly prepared for it. Details will come out after the BOI has finished its work,” he added.
The Ugandan People’s Defence Force (UPDF) said on Saturday that they had sent a team led by the Chief of Land Forces, Lt Gen Kayanja Muhanga, to Mogadishu, Somalia, to ascertain the circumstances under which the country’s troops were attacked.
Lt-Gen Muhanga, a veteran of the many operations, including Somali combat fields battling the Al-Shabaab, currently holds the third highest ranking office in Uganda’s military, and the 5,000 UPDF troops deployed in Somalia fall under his command.
The UPDF has been in Somalia since 2007, as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The mission is tasked with supporting the Somali government in its fight against Al-Shabaab, which is an Islamist militant group that has been waging an insurgency against the government for over a decade.
The attack on Friday was the deadliest one yet against Ugandan troops in Somalia. The UPDF has not released the number of casualties, but reports say that at least 20 soldiers were killed and dozens more were wounded.
The attack has also raised questions about the effectiveness of the AMISOM mission. In recent months, there have been a number of high-profile attacks against AMISOM troops, including a suicide bombing in Mogadishu in February that killed at least 50 people.
The attack on Friday is a reminder of the dangers that Ugandan troops face in Somalia. The UPDF has been a key part of the AMISOM mission, and its continued presence is essential to the success of the mission. However, the attack also raises questions about the future of the mission, and whether it is sustainable in the long term.
