Kampala denies reports of 10 to 11 soldiers killed in Somalia
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Caasimada Online
According to the Ugandan government, rumours circulating online about the deaths of 10 to 11 Ugandan soldiers serving with AUSSOM, the African Union mission in Somalia, are false. Dennis Katungi, deputy executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, attributes this information to the Al-Shabaab group and insists that Kampala has no losses to mourn, as its troops gradually withdraw from Somalia.
The Ugandan government on Friday denied online reports that Ugandan soldiers had been killed in an attack in Somalia. Dennis Katungi, deputy executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, said at a press conference in Kampala that the reports were false and had been spread by the Al-Shabaab group.
The denied reports described an ambush against a column of Ugandan soldiers leaving the Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabelle) region, which reportedly killed 10 to 11 members of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). Kampala has released no casualty figures and describes the messages as fake news.
The denial comes as Uganda has begun a rapid withdrawal of its troops. According to Ugandan forces, the first group of soldiers has returned to Uganda, and the departure of AUSSOM personnel is to take place gradually until the end of 2027. The country provides around 4,500 troops to the mission, the largest contingent, which has long operated in the Banaadir region and in Shabeellaha Hoose.
On 30 October, 109 Ugandan soldiers had already left Somalia. On 3 November, the African Union deployed troops to replace them.
