Twelve Ugandan peacekeepers under the Somalia Mission were killed in the Tuesday morning attack by Islamic militants Al-Shabaab on the Ugandan army base in Janaale, 55 miles (90km) southeast of the capital Mogadishu, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has said.
The UPDF spokesperson Lt Col Paddy Ankunda said that out of the 12 bodies, ten would be flown to the army air base in Entebbe this morning.
“Twelve soldiers died, ten are landing this morning, two more to follow. Names of the dead will be published now that the next of kin have been notified as per our policy,” Lt Col Ankunda said.
“We will not relent in our efforts to help in the pacification of Somalia despite the attack. This attack is a game changer, Al-Shabaab can only expect an appropriate response from UPDF,” he added.
Although various accounts gave conflicting numbers of the dead, Lt Col Ankunda insisted the AMISOM (African Union Mission for Somalia) has accounted for all its soldiers and none was missing in action after the Janaale attack except the 12.
“Western sources on fatalities in Somalia are wrong. UPDF has done the headcount, let the speculation stop,” Lt Col Ankunda reiterated.
Quoting local sources, CNN yesterday reported that 45 Ugandan and Somali soldiers had been killed in the fighting.
On Tuesday, the insurgents claimed they had killed 50 Ugandan soldiers at Janale, the area under the control of the Uganda Battle Group 14.
However both claims could not be independently verified.
QUICK FACTS
highest rank is Lt. David Etua Ondama, 5 Sgts. 2 Corporals & privates
UPDF lost 10 in Al-Shabab attack, the enemy side lost 46 and were 2 captured alive”
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