Reuben Olita
Saturday, May 19, 2007
An independent source identified Sentongo as a Major. Rwehururu and his team are yet to talk to the wounded soldiers. "I will be able to give the correct condition of the injured soldiers once I am allowed to see them on Saturday morning," he said in a brief interview with The New Vision.
The soldiers were injured in Mogadishu on Wednesday, in which four others and a Somali child were killed. The attack brings to five, the number of Ugandan peacekeepers killed in Mogadishu since they deployed in March.
Meanwhile, the army has not yet named the dead. "The names of the deceased will be made public as soon as we have contact with their families," army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye said on Friday.
From Addis Ababa, the Director of Peace and Security at the African Union, Geofrey Mugumya, clarified that "according to the agreement signed between the Africa Union and the Government of Uganda, the maximum amount compensated for death is $50,000. The UPDF has of now lost five soldiers which brings a total sum for compensation to $250,000. As soon as the details of the deceased are finalised, the Commission will begin processing the compensation."
It was reported in the media yesterday that each family would receive about $100,000.
Kulayigye on Thursday told AFP that following the attack, "the commanders on the ground will have to adjust their operations so that similar incidents do not occur in the future."
"Whoever thought that by attacking our troops we would pull out must forget it. Our mission will stay in Somalia and improve security measures," he added.
The spokesperson of the peacekeeping force, Capt. Paddy Ankunda, was undeterred. "People die and it was their day. We are still strong and this is not something that could discourage us."
AMISON, the African Union force in Somalia, currently comprises 1,500 Ugandan soldiers. The Union is struggling to gather a 8,000 troops due to take over from Ethiopian forces who helped Somali troops expel an Islamist movement from south and central Somalia at the start of the year.
Meanwhile, some suspects have been apprehended by the police in connection with the Thursday attack on Somali Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, the Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle told AFP.
Gedi escaped unharmed after his convoy hit a landmine that failed to explode in northern Mogadishu. He was heading to a ceremony at the capital's main airport for the departure of the bodies of four Ugandan soldiers.
A witness said the prime minister's officials jumped off their vehicles and fired into the air after hitting the landmine.
No one was injured in the incident in the Juba neighbourhood of northern Mogadishu, the third attempt on Gedi's life since he was nominated to head Somalia's transitional government in 2004.
"We condemn the barbaric act by troublesome people who want to discourage AMISON forces," Gedi said at the airport ceremony.
Source: The New Vision, May 19, 2007