Friday, August 16, 2013
The US army has trained 145 Ugandan military police officers who are
set for deployment in Somalia under the auspices of the African Union
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
The soldiers were passed out on Wednesday at a military training facility in the central Uganda district of Nakaseke.
The state controlled New Vision daily newspaper reported on Thursday
that the training covered various aspects of military police training
such as public order management, conducting military operations in an
urban environment, medical skills and manning checkpoints, among others.
Lt. Col William Wyatt, the Chief of Cooperation at the US embassy in
Kampala was quoted by the New Vision as saying that the Ugandan soldiers
had benefitted from skills needed in an operation environment.
In March 2007 Uganda was the first country to deploy troops in Somalia followed by Burundi, Djibuti and Kenya.
Ugandan troops make the bulk of AMISON troops fighting Al-Shabaab.
The country's contribution in the fight against the Al-Shabaab has
been praised by the West most notably the US and Britain who have both
been involved in training Ugandan troops before their deployment in
Somalia.