{Uganda has suspended 15 of its senior military commanders over their conduct in Somalia, including allegations of sexual exploitation, the army said.}<\/p>\n
The suspension on Thursday comes in the wake of a damning report by Human Rights Watch which has accused troops with the internationally funded African Union force in Somalia, AMISOM, of preying on vulnerable women and girls.<\/p>\n
“We are doing a general appraisal on performance of the force,” Uganda’s defence and army spokesman Paddy Ankunda told the AFP news agency. <\/p>\n
“It’s not sexual harassment alone,” he said, but added the concerns were “one aspect we are looking at”.<\/p>\n
“Those are allegations. We are investigating. Until the investigations are completed that’s when we will know their involvement [in sexual abuse], but for now they are suspended,” he said.<\/p>\n
The 22,000-strong AMISOM force comprises soldiers drawn from six nations, and has been fighting alongside Somali government troops against al-Shabab fighters since 2007. <\/p>\n
AMISOM donors include the United Nations, European Union, Britain and the United States.<\/p>\n
The Human Rights Watch report quoted several women as saying they had gone to the AMISOM camp seeking medicine for their sick babies, but were then forced to have sex. <\/p>\n
The vulnerable women largely came from camps in the capital Mogadishu, having fled rural Somalia during a devastating famine in 2011. <\/p>\n
African Union chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has already ordered an investigation into the allegations, and the probe is due to be completed by November 30. <\/p>\n
The pan-African bloc, however, has also accused Human Rights Watch of being unfair and inaccurate, and of undermining peace efforts in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation.<\/p>\n
Aljazeera<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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