Ugandan army readies for Somali, Darfur deployment

KAMPALA, May 29 (Xinhua) — Ugandan army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza Sunday said the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) has completed their training and are now ready for deployment to Somalia and Darfur region in Sudan for peace mission operations.

The spokesman was quoted by Radio Uganda as saying that the team’s departure had been delayed by the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN).

Bantariza explained the Somali mission was expected to be sanctioned by the AU while that of Darfur is under the UN secretariat.

AU has authorized the IGAD countries, or Uganda, Kenya, Somalia,Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, to send a peacekeeping force to Mogadishu to help Somalia’s transitional government relocate to the country. Uganda will deploy over 1,000 troops in Somalia.

Bantariza also said the army would soon embark on a full-scale disarmament program of the Karimojong warriors in northeast part of the country.

He warned those still in possession of illegal arms to surrender them or face prosecution.