With some masses of the public claiming there is an untold story about Uganda’s heavy involvement in war-troubled Somalia, according to government spokesperson Rtd Col Shaban Bantariza it’s a matter of African brotherhood.
“Somalia is part and parcel of the African people and for us as Uganda, they’re neighbors, people can walk from Somalia to Uganda within weeks. The role of UPDF in Somalia is to create conditions for Somalia to be able to take charge of their affairs,” Bantariza stated while appearing on NBS TV Morning Breeze.
However, just like the popular quote of ‘Ensi eguulwa Milambo’ which loosely translates as ‘you can not liberate the country without mass blood shed’, Shaban also believes so as he said; “You can’t earn the peace of a state without making sacrifices. I don’t like the idea of people reducing the idea of AMISON to just Uganda, it would be insulting other stakeholders who have contributed machinery and time.”
This comes at a time where yesterday, four bodies of fallen UPDF soldier were airlifted back from Somalia following an Easter attack from the Al Shaabab.