Early this week Al Shabaab militants attacked a Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) camp in Janaale in Somalia, killing twelve peacekeepers serving under Amisom.
The people of Somalia are our brothers and sisters who, unfortunately, have not known peace for the last two decades since 1991, when president Mohammed Said Barre was overthrown.
Needless to mention, his ouster threw the country in turmoil, with fragmented groups fighting each other over remarkably petty tribal differences that could otherwise be resolved through dialogue.
But that was never to be and in the ensuing escalation of volatility, there emerged terror groups like the Al Shabaab, which have over the past few years distinguished themselves as a heartless group, wreaking havoc in Uganda, Kenya and Somalia, in the process killing thousands of innocent people.
Indeed, they have made the region unstable, affecting the social and economic well-being of the citizens of the countries where they carry out their heinous acts.
But we should not let them celebrate and that is the reason we should laud the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Katumba Wamala for his quick response to the calamity that befell the 12 members of the Ugandan contingent.
The fact the Gen Wamala has been with the peacekeepers since the fateful day should serve to reassure them that their work is appreciated.
That said, Somalia needs to be helped out of its current predicament so that its citizens can regain their dignity and rejoin the community of nations. And, as neighbours, it is our duty to ensure that lasting peace and harmony are attained and embraced by all the Somalis.
That is why those who want to disrupt their new semblance to peace in the country should be treated with utmost contempt and fought to the hilt. Fair enough, that is what the 12 peacekeepers were doing at the time they met their death.
May their souls Rest in Peace.
