At least twelve UPDF soldiers died in the Al Shabaab attack on Tuesday at the AMISOM base at Janaale, Lower Shabelle Region in Somalia, the Uganda army has announced.
“The bodies of ten fallen soldiers are landing this morning while two more will be brought later,” army spokesperson, Lt Col Paddy Ankunda told ChimpReports by telephone on Thursday morning.
He clarified that the army could not have risked releasing the particulars of the departed soldiers before notifying their next of kin.
Describing the deceased as “heroes”, Ankunda pointed out that the soldiers’ bodies are already airborne and that aircraft would touch down at Entebbe Airbase 10:00 am.
AMISOM said in a statement that the terrorists used a car loaded with explosives to trigger the attack and to facilitate their forced entry into the camp after which they engaged AMISOM soldiers in a gun-battle.
Highly placed defence sources said most of the soldiers succumbed to the fragments of explosives from the Al Shabaab vehicle.
“When the vehicle exploded, our soldiers near the entrance of our military base were hit,” a source observed.
“However, when the militants decided to engage us in the battle inside the compound, 45 of them fell while about 63 were wounded in the massive attack.”
Ankunda said Uganda “will not relent in our efforts to help in the pacification of Somalia despite the attack.”
He further warned the militants of grave consequences: “This attack is a game changer, Al Shabaab can only expect an appropriate response from UPDF.”
Reprehensible
The Special Representative of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia and Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Maman Sidikou condemned the attack as “reprehensible” and praised the heroism of the peacekeepers who were killed during this attack noting that they have paid a worthy price while serving the people of Somalia.
“Ambassador Sidikou commiserates with the government and people of Uganda on the losses suffered during this heinous attack.”
“Although our troops undertook a tactical withdrawal following the initial vehicle borne explosive attack, they have since consolidated and regained full control of the base,” AMISOM clarified.
“Given the complex nature of the attack, AMISOM is currently verifying the number of casualties and extent of the damage.”
Uganda maintains over 6,000 troops in Somalia who have played a pivotal role in the liberation of strategic towns from Al Shabaab militants.
Al Shabaab said the attack was in response to AMISOM soldiers’ killing of seven civilians at a wedding in Marka on July 31, 2015.
Following this incident, AMISOM told a press conference that three soldiers were indicted and awaiting to be arraigned before a military judicial process over the crime.
On Thursday, Ankunda said AMISOM has accounted for all its soldiers, adding, “No missing in action from Janaale attack.”
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