African Report
Monday, January 07, 2013
Ugandan troops in Somalia now control 75 000 square kilometers of the troubled country, their commander Brigadier Michael Ondoga has said.
He said the Ungandans had made great strides in the last seven months, after successfully flushing Al-Shabab militants from their bases.
Ondoga said Al Shabaab's loss of most of the territory has reduced the militants' ability to wage war.
"We are in control of Marka which is 104 kms from Mogadishu, Lego which is 135 kms in central region and Johwar, which is 100 kms in the north," he said.
Ondoga said after being defeated by Ugandan troops the militants had resorted to launching guerrilla attacks and using improvised explosive devices.
But he said the tactics had not been successful.
"We have been very successful. We have captured 437 assorted types of guns and 16,402 bullets from Al-Shabaab in the last one year," he said.
Ugandan troops in Somalia are fighting along with other African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops from Kenya, Burundi and Djibouti.
AMISOM's area of operation in Somalia has been demarcated into four sectors.
Sector one and three are controlled by Ugandan and Burundian contingents of AMISOM while sector two in south Somalia is controlled by Kenyan troops.
Djibouti is in sector four located in the north.