UPDF Regain Control Of Base Overran By Al Shabaab After Getting Tough Orders From President Museveni

By Gad Masereka

Mogadishu: After being completely taken over by Al Shabaab militants last week, the Ugandan army, UPDF, has now regained control of the forward operating station in Buulo Mareer, 120 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu in the Lower Shabelle region.

The militants from the outlying villages and Buulo Mareer town, which the terrorist group had also taken over, were chased out by the UPDF.

The combined infantry and motorized units of the Ugandan armed forces encountered opposition from Alshabaab sniper fire positioned in multistory structures and other pockets of resistance from fleeing remnants, according to Maj Peter Mugisa, the UPDF’s spokesperson in Somalia.

According to Maj. Mugisa, some villagers who had fled the area because of the fire fight are now returning to reoccupy their homes. However, after heavy fire, the insurgents were overcome and forced to evacuate.

After a thorough search of the region, Brig. Peter Gaetano Omola, the sector one commander in charge of the operation at Goloweyn tactical base, remarked that things have returned to normal and that locals and travelers are now free to carry out their regular responsibilities.

“The road has been cleaned of bombs, and we have searched the area to make sure no Alshabaab members are hiding. Everything is back to normal. Brig. Omola told the populace that they may now resume their regular jobs.

According to the African Union’s directive, “As UPDF serving under African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, we remain committed to supporting a Somali-led peace and stability process.”

The move occurs in the wake of a fatal attack by Al Shabaab, which overran a UPDF forward operating camp in the region and killed several Ugandan soldiers while also imprisoning several others.

The raid has been characterized as the Ugandan army’s largest setback in Somalia since its 2007 deployment under the African Union to combat Al Shabaab terrorists, despite the fact that no official number of casualties has been provided.

President Museveni later attributed this significant loss on the Ugandan soldiers at the base panicking, but he also warned that Al Shabaab would pay dearly for its actions.

Since then, a board of investigation has been established to look into the attack’s circumstances.