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Uganda: Somalia is Accessible - Wamala
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New Vision (Kampala)
30 April 2008
Posted to the web 1 May 2008
Alfred Wasike
Kampala
THE success of the UPDF in Mogadishu disproved the myth that war-torn Somalia is a no-go area, Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala, the commander of the Land Forces, has said.
"There is no reason why other African countries cannot move in now. We have greatly improved the situation there. We burst the myth that Somalia is a no-go area."
He acknowledged that the Somalia mission, dubbed AMISOM, was not easy.
"We did not expect a tea party so we prepared for a full spectrum of military operations."
Wamala was speaking at the army's Mubende Casualty Unit on Tuesday night during a special ceremony to welcome back the first batch of Ugandan troops from the mission.
Honouring the five soldiers who were killed in two separate attacks in Mogadishu, Wamala said: "Let us stand and observe silence in respect of our comrades who died nobly while on a peace enforcing mission in Somalia."
The battle-hardened combatants assembled lifted their caps, while the army brass-band played Tumemaliza kazi yetu (we have completed our task).
The function was presided over by defence minister Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, who also paid glowing tribute to the 1,625 troops, code named UGABAG 1 (Uganda Battle Group), who pioneered the mission.
"We performed beyond the scope of our work, including in the medical area," Kiyonga said.
"We put up an operating theatre and admission wards out of nothing. When we went to Somalia, there was one flight a week out of Mogadishu, when we left there were 10."
Praising the combatants, he said: "You carried the UPDF and Uganda's name very high. The head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth, referred to the excellent performance of the UPDF in Somalia. Your courage was exemplary."
He explained that the mission was part of the Movement's ideology of liberating Africa.
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"We believe in standing by our brothers and sisters to rid our continent of poverty, disease and technological backwardness. We need security to initiate development."
Uganda and Burundi are the only countries which have contributed troops to AMISOM. Nigeria has sent a reconnaissance team.
The AU needs 8,000 troops to pacify Somalia, but one year later, only 2,400 have been deployed.
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