Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) troops have been praised for their contribution to the peace transformation in Mogadishu, Somalia since their deployment in 2007.
The Deputy Force Commander in charge of Support and Logistics of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), Major General Peter Kimani Muteti expressed his appreciation to the troops on Wednesday.
During his familiarisation tour of the mission since his recent deployment, Major General Peter Kimani visited the UPDF Contingent Headquarters base camp in Mogadishu where he expressed his gratitude for the efforts of UPDF troops.
“There is a peace transformation in Somalia, especially in Mogadishu. This has been possible due to UPDF’s efforts since deploying in 2007. We commend you for this contribution, and your effort was not in vain,†he said.
Kimani also promised full support in logistics for better service delivery and the achievement of the overall mandate stipulated in the Somali Transitional Plan (STP), UNSR 2628 and 2670.
He emphasized that the end state of ATMIS’s mandate is to ensure a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Somalia and defeat all forms of terrorism in the region and Africa at large.
The Deputy Force Commander also highlighted that ATMIS is now in a mentoring phase to the Somali Security Forces (SSF) and implored that UPDF is perfectly doing that, and that is why the security of Mogadishu is now manned by the Somali National Army (SNA).
Maj Gen Peter Kimani’s visit comes after recent operations and liberations that saw the heavy defeat of Al-Shabaab.
He called on the Al-Shabaab remnants to surrender and contribute to the development of Somalia.
He pledged full support and challenged that, should Al-Shabaab continue to threaten the peace of Somalia, ATMIS forces would deal with them decisively.
Present were Commander Brig Gen Peter Gaetano Omola, Deputy sector 1 Commander Col Griffins Kantinti, Force Engineer Col David Nwogu, Force communications officer, Lt Col Peter Mwila Lungu, Force spokesperson Lt Col Abdul Ganale among others.
