Ugandan soldiers in Amisom to face court martial for killing civilians
This handout picture released by the African Union-United Nations Information Support Team on August 30, 2014 shows Ugandan soldiers, part of the African Union Mission in Somalia, marching through the town of Golweyn in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region on August 30, 2014, after having liberated from Al-Shabaab fighters.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) has recommended a court martial for Ugandan soldiers implicated in the killing of civilians.
A team investigating an incident on Wednesday said Ugandan authorities should try the soldiers found culpable in the killing of civilians in August this year in Somalia.
Amisom’s investigators found that the soldiers operating in Golweyn area in Lower Shabelle region in Southern Somalia, about 110 km south of Mogadishu, had on August 10 killed innocent civilians.
A statement released on Friday stated: “The seven people killed were regrettably civilians and the conduct of the personnel involved was in breach of Amisom rules of engagement.”
Amisom said that it will hold the implicated soldiers responsible in accordance with a recommendation by a six-member board assigned to conduct full enquiry.
Thus, Uganda as a troop contributing country is trusted to conduct the necessary punitive measures.
The statement indicated: “The government of the Republic of Uganda, as a Troop Contributing Country (TCC) to which the implicated soldiers belong, has constituted a Court Martial to try the errant soldiers,” adding that the court martial will sit and conduct its proceedings in Somalia.
Independent media in Somalia had published stories of families grieving that the seven killed were innocent farmers and not members of the Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab jihadists.
However, the enquiry also found out that on the fateful day, Amisom soldiers encountered Al-Shabaab fighters at the area before exchange of fire ensued.
“In the encounter, one Amisom soldier was killed and another sustained gunshot injuries,” Amisom stated.
In its conclusion, Amisom stated that it will follow this matter to its conclusive end.
In August, rural dwellers and relatives of the victims who spoke with local media challenged the peacekeepers’ initial denial and assertion that the victims were part of the Al-Shabaab fighters that had attacked the soldiers.
“The seven innocent people were killed on the spot by the Ugandan soldiers,” rural community leaders had told the media.
They insisted that following the killing, the soldiers detonated a landmine that mutilated the bodies.
The enquiry board was chaired by a representative from the African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa with membership including representatives from both Amisom and the Federal Government of Somalia.
