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| Africa Horn | |
| Uganda deploys new force in Somalia | |
| 2014-04-17 | |
| A new force constituted by Uganda to protect UN personnel and installations in Somalia will start arriving in Mogadishu on Thursday. The force, dubbed the UN Guard Unit, was flagged off by the deputy Chief of Defence Forces, Lt. Gen. Charles Angina, at the peace operations support centre in Singo in Nakaseke district yesterday, after undergoing a two months training. Comprised of 410 UPDF soldiers, the force is the first of its kind to be deployed under UN in the war ravaged horn of Africa nation. UN has similar guard units in Libya and Central African Republic. Ugandaâs military chiefs said there were high expectations in the UN circles in Mogadishu and among the Somali population about the new force Uganda has constituted to facilitate peace keeping operations in the country. The force, the military chiefs said, will free the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops from guard duties and concentrate on pursuing the al Shabaab militants. Angina engaged the force in singing to gauge their morale and preparedness for the deployment before he delivered his speech. âI have no doubt that your morale is high. You are really ready for the task,â he said. The deployment of UPDF soldiers under auspices of the UN, Angina said, was a historic development in the history of the Ugandaâs army. He cautioned the force against breaking their rules of engagement saying âNo abating of crime will be tolerated in the mission area. If you want to break them, do it now so you can remain,â Angina also advised the troops against reckless spending of the salaries and allowances while in the mission area. Each soldier will be paid $1028 per month by UN minus allowances.
Keita was the commanding officer of the infantry battalion in the Special Forces Command before he undertook a one year European Union funded peace keeping mission training in preparation for his new assignment. Ugandaâs military advisor to the UN, Maj. Gen. Silver Kayemba said âWe got a request for this force from UN in February and in less than two months we are ready to deploy. This means we are ready to maintain peace in the region,â The UN, Kayemba said, has already dispatched the equipment for the force in the mission area. âWe are sending a force we vetted and anyone who messes up will be dealt with. We (Uganda) needs to increase her visibility in the UN,â he added. The land forces chief of staff, Brig. Leo Kyanda said, the forceâs tasks would also include; carrying out cordon and search, patrolling, providing reinforcement and relief services, command management, evacuation and joint operations among others. âWe take this new assignment under the UN seriously. Ugandaâs contribution to UN peace keeping efforts in Somalia cannot be underestimated because UPDF has participated in the most complex operations,â Kyanda said. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 With goats and young girls thrown in free as a bonus. >:-( |
| Posted by: Barbara 2014-04-17 15:51 |
| #1 Each soldier will be paid $1028 per month by UN minus allowances Meaning the UN will shell out some $3K-plus for each of them. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2014-04-17 13:41 |