Uganda will not send peacekeeping troops to South Sudan, the Chief of Defence Forces General Edward Katumba Wamala, has revealed.
While appearing before the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee of Parliament chaired by Judith Nabakooba, Gen Wamala also revealed that Sudan, the northern neighbor, will not send troops to the country that attained Independence just five years ago.
During the 27th African Union Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, it was resolved that five countries, namely Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia contribute troops for the South Sudan mission, but according to Gen Wamala, Uganda was now only ready to provide logistical support to the other troop-contributing countries.
Also, during the IGAD Heads of State summit held in Addis Ababa last week, it was reiterated that the bloc deploy a ‘third party regional force’ to the South Sudan capital, Juba.
However, Uganda and Sudan are considered to have interests in South Sudan, with the former having sent troops to the troubled country in December 2013, when troops loyal to rivals President Salva Kiir and then Vice President Riek Machar, went to war.
