KAMPALA, (Wajaalenew) — Uganda’s military spokesman says the military has suspended at least 15 soldiers who were peacekeepers in Somalia over allegations of misconduct.
Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said Thursday that those suspended include two generals who had been deployed to Somalia as part of the African Union force there.
He said the action was part of what he called “a general performance assessment” of Uganda’s peacekeeping duties in Somalia, but did not specify the allegations against the former peacekeepers.
The suspensions follow a Human Rights Watch report last September that cited the sexual abuse and exploitation of vulnerable Somali women by African Union troops.
Since 2007 Ugandan troops have been deployed to Somalia, where the African Union force helps the country’s Western-backed government to fight the Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab.