America back in Somalia Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | On May 03, Al Shabaab fighters stormed an African Union base in near Ceel Baraf, a village some 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of the Somalian capital Mogadishu and killed at least 10 Burundian peacekeepers and wounded 25 in heavy …
Read More »IN THE INDEPENDENT: Bad news – America is back in Somalia
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | These are the top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT. COVER STORY Bad news: America is back in Somalia THE LAST WORD Museveni’s Umeme mistake: Why the refusal to renew their concession is not a big loss to Ugandan workers and investors and a boom …
Read More »US Military training: Uganda tops Africa
Why it remains one of the biggest beneficiaries despite poor human rights record Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | A U.S. government report released in March indicated that the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) had the highest number of trainees among African countries who underwent foreign military training by the …
Read More »Old fights haunt ‘new’ AU Somalia mission
On April 1, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) became the official name of the 15-year peace keeping mission called AMISOM. However little has changed about its challenges Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | ATMIS was authorised by the African Union Peace and Security Council Communique of the …
Read More »Somali, AU military chiefs set up team on rules of operations for new peace mission
Mogadishu, Somalia | Xinhua | Senior African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali National Army (SNA) military commanders have wrapped up a five-day meeting by agreeing to set up a joint technical team to implement rules of operations for the new peace mission. The joint team which will also …
Read More »UPDF to stay in Somalia despite end of AMISOM mandate
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) will stay in Somalia despite the end of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) program. Uganda alongside other countries that include Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Burundi have been enforcing peace in Somalia under the UN-backed AMISOM program since 2007. However, …
Read More »Uganda deploys new police contingent in Somalia
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Police Force (UPF) has deployed a new contingent of Formed Police Unit (FPU) personnel to serve under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The contingent arrived in Mogadishu on Tuesday to begin their one-year tour of duty. During their tour of duty, …
Read More »UPDF contingent in Somalia not paid allowances for 10 months
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Peoples Defence Forces troops serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia have not received allowances for the last 10 months. The matter came up during a meeting between a team from the Defence Committee of Parliament and the Ministry of Defence and Veteran …
Read More »Convicted UPDF soldiers in Somalia used explosives to desecrate bodies of their victims
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Radio Network-URN has obtained details of the five soldiers convicted last week by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces-UPDF General Court Martial sitting in Mogadishu for killing civilians in Somalia. The convicts are R0/13537 Captain Charles Asiimwe, RA164787 Corporal Edison Bwambale, RAV/171317 Corporal Alexander Babu, …
Read More »Two UPDF soldiers to serve death sentence for killing civilians in Somalia
Mogadishu, Somalia | Xinhua | Two Ugandan soldiers accused of killing seven Somali civilians in August while serving under the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) have been sentenced to death while three others to 39 years each in jail after being found guilty by a court-martial. AMISOM said the Court Martial …
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