KAMPALA [SMN] – The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, has announced that two UPDF commanders have been arrested for failure to repel Al-Shabaab attack on Bulo-Marer.
Maj Oluka and Maj Obbo, the president said, ordered the soldiers to retreat from the base after it came under attack on May 26 by militants who blasted their way into the ground.
“They have been arrested for mistakes that led to the infiltration of the base and will be arraigned in a martial court. Our soldiers showed incredible resilience and regrouped, resulting in the recapture of the base,” Museveni said in a statement on Sunday.
On the other hand, the President of Uganda announced that 54 soldiers were killed in the attack, refuting claims by Al-Shabaab that 137 soldiers have died in the complex raid.
Museveni said last week that there were casualties among the Ugandan forces, but he did not provide further details about the number of soldiers killed/injured in the attack.
He added that the Ugandan troops panicked and did not fight as they should have, which led Al-Shabaab to capture the base and killed the soldiers stationed there for many years.
Al Shabaab said it seized military vehicles, weapons, and other equipment from the base.
The Ugandan contingent of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] is the largest with more than 5,000 soldiers are active in the service, according to the sources.
