Tuesday October 11, 2022
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni speaks during a Reuters interview at his farm in Kisozi settlement of Gomba district, in the Central Region of Uganda, January 16, 2022. Picture taken January 16, 2022. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa/File Photo
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has promised to provide more military equipment to Somalia to help fight al-Shabab militants, according to a State House statement issued on Monday.
Museveni said while the East African region can work toward providing equipment to Somalia, the country should have a plan to build a national army.
“The people must build their army to defend themselves,” Museveni said, while meeting visiting Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who was in Uganda to commemorate the country’s 60th anniversary of independence from colonial rule Sunday.
Mohamud thanked Museveni for sending troops to be part of the bigger peacekeeping force currently operating under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Uganda has more than 6,000 troops serving under ATMIS.
Mohamud said the Somali army has made big strides in promoting security, adding that the community has cooperated with the army in its work. He was optimistic that within the next six months, his government would have attained total victory over the al-Shabab militants.