Uganda officer killed by roadside bomb in Somalia

Security forces are dispatched to the scene after bomb and armed attack on a hotel which is close to the Presidential Palace, organized by al-Shabaab terrorist group in Mogadishu, Somalia on March 15, 2024. [Abukar Mohamed Muhudin – Anadolu Agency]

Ugandan military officer serving in Somalia was killed and six other soldiers were wounded when their convoy triggered a roadside bomb, Reuters reported Uganda’s military saying today, blaming fighters from Al-Shabaab.

Uganda has about 5,000 troops serving in Somalia under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) peacekeeping mission.

Major Patrick Opio Awany was killed by the explosion in the village of Ceel-Werigow, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu yesterday, said Ibrahim Kasule Sekitto, a spokesman for the Ugandan troops.

Awany was commanding the convoy, which was heading from Mogadishu to Ceeljale in the Lower Shabelle region, Sekitto told Reuters.

“This attack won’t deter us, it will instead stiffen our resolve to continue supporting peace efforts in Somalia,” he said.

Al Shabaab has been fighting for more than a decade to topple Somalia’s central government and install its rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

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