The bodies of 12 Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers killed early this week by the Al Shabaab militants in Somalia are to be returned today.
According to the UPDF spokesperson Brigadier Richard Karemire, the remains will be taken to the hospital at army headquarters after which they will be transported to their ancestral homes for burial.
“Our comrades will be flown in today, the remains will be taken to our headquarters and then will be transported to their families,” Brig. Karemire was quoted as saying by local media, adding that the deceased will be accorded burials with full military honours.
Further, Brig. Karemire said the deaths will not deter the UPDF from seeking to accomplish its pacification mission in Somalia.
“We are pan-Africans; when we went in Somalia, we knew this would happen; this is the price we are paying but we don’t need to lose hope,” he said, adding that the Al Shabaab militants had lost ground to launch devastating attacks the peacekeepers.
“We broke the back of al-Shabaab and no doubt about that; when we deployed in Somalia, they were everywhere. Now all the key towns in Somalia were recaptured and they are now under the government of Somali,” Brig, Karemire said.
