Ugandan officer killed by roadside bomb in Somalia

According to Uganda’s military, rebels from the Islamist organization al Shabaab are to blame for the roadside bombing that resulted in the death of a Ugandan military officer stationed in Somalia and the injuries of six other soldiers.

About 5,000 Ugandan soldiers are part of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) peacekeeping effort in Somalia.

A spokesman for the Ugandan military, Ibrahim Kasule Sekitto, stated that Major Patrick Opio Awany was killed by an explosion on Sunday in the village of Ceel-Werigow, approximately 70 kilometers southwest of the capital Mogadishu.

Awany led the caravan that was traveling from Mogadishu to Ceeljale in the Lower Shabelle area, according to Sekitto, who spoke with Reuters.

“This attack won’t deter us, it will instead stiffen our resolve to continue supporting peace efforts in Somalia,” he added.

For more than ten years, Al Shabaab has been battling to overthrow Somalia’s central government and impose its own, stringent version of Islamic sharia law.