Uganda mulls withdrawing its troops from Somalia

Ugandan military is reconsidering withdrawing its troops from Somalia which Ugandan soldiers have been operating as peace-keepers under the framework of AMISOM since 2007.

Army spokesman Lt Col Paddy Ankunda confirmed the development and said a special committee has been constituted and its recommendations will be followed.

“For now Uganda, is reviewing UPDF involvement in AMISOM, [but the] decision to withdraw [has] not yet been taken,” Ankunda said on his twitter account.

On September last Year (2015) Al-Shabab fighters in Somalia have killed “scores” of African Union troops in an attack on their military base in Janaale town.

A week after the attack on AMISOM soldiers, Al-Shabaab released a video of the attack on the AMISOM base in Janaale, in which more than 50 Ugandan soldiers were killed by the group’s fighters.

Uganda supplies more than 6,000 soldiers to the peace keeping mission in Somalia, making the country’s peace mission the largest in Africa.

Other countries with peacekeeping missions in Somalia include Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.   The Somalia peace mission is being carried out under African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM).

The mission is funded by a number of international partners, including European Union and United Nations.