Questions soar after Al Shabaab attack on UPDF base

Uganda’s military and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) are assessing the security situation after the Somalia insurgents successfully attacked a Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) base in Somalia with several explosives during yesterday’s dawn raid.

By press time, there was little or no clarity about the number of casualties. The pre-dawn attack targeted a military base in Bulo Marer, which is 110km from Mogadishu, the Somalia Capital City.
ATMIS confirmed the attack on its base and tersely said it was assessing the situation.

“This morning ATMIS FOB (Forward operating base) in Bulo Marer, Lower Sabelle region came under al-Shabaab attack. ATMIS forces are currently assessing the security situation. More information will be issued later,” a statement by ATMIS reads in part. The UPDF also issued a statement, saying they are in contact with the ATMIS to assess the situation.

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in East Africa, more commonly known as al-Shabaab, claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, al-Shabaab claimed its Mujahideen fighters “successfully overran the base [on the outskirts of the town of Buula-Mareer], securing its perimeters and taking control of its defence post.”

The militant group further claimed that its Mujahideen fighters had killed 137 soldiers and captured others before seizing military vehicles and other equipment during the attack.

This publication could not verify the claims made by the militant group. Previously, they have exaggerated their operations to increase the morale of their members.

Local media in Somalia reported that after the attack, al-Shabaab was unable to capture the town. Somalia authorities also had not confirmed the capture of the town by press time.

Previous attacks
Al-Shabaab militants have carried out similar attacks on bases of the troop contributing countries (TCCs). They often detonate explosives at the parameters or entrance of the base then their fighters enter and start shooting at anything they find.

In 2015, al-Shabaab attacked a UPDF base in Janaale several miles away from the capital and killed 19 soldiers. 

Ugandan troops have been in Somalia since 2007 under the African Union mandate to enforce peace. They have registered successes, driving the militant group from the capital and many other major towns.

The weakened militant group resorted to use of improvised explosive devices against the civilian population and the peacekeeping troops.

On September 17, 2009, al-Shabaab attacked the main headquarters of the AU troops and killed six soldiers. Among the them, the Burundian deputy commander of the mission, Maj Gen Juvenal Niyoyunguriza. Other senior military officers were also injured in the attack.

On December 25, 2014, they attacked a mess for senior commanders in the same facility and killed several soldiers.

They have also carried out similar attacks on bases of other troop contributing countries such as Kenya and Burundi.

Transition
Uganda has since 2007 had boots on the ground in Somalia. It was in fact the first country to send peacekeepers to what was then known as the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).
In April 2022, the peacekeeping mission mutated to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). 

According to ATMIS’ official website, until December 31, 2022, its military component had 18,586. These were supposed to be whittled down by 2,000 troops this year as ATMIS works towards meeting a December 2024 final exit. 

Friday’s attack comes at the time when the peacekeeping mission is coming to an end, with the TCCs in the process of handing over the operations to the Somalia National Army.

Last week, Uganda passed out hundreds of Somali Special Forces who underwent training in a military training facility in western Uganda.

The drawdowns notwithstanding, ATMIS works with five TCCs. These include: Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. The TCCs are deployed throughout south-central Somalia, with the UPDF running the rule over the Benadir region. This straddles the capital, Mogadishu, and Lower Shabelle region.

Allowances debacle
Uganda’s troops are thought to number 1,500 soldiers, and they operate in battle groups. In recent times, soldiers from returning battle groups have been up in arms about unpaid allowances.

Citing sources in security circles, The East African—our sister newspaper—the outstanding arrears can be traced as far back to Battle Group 30.

The latest cohort that lifted the lid on the issue of unpaid arrears was a cohort that returned from Somalia on December 31, 2022. The cohort claims to have not been paid for an eye-watering 12 months. 

On paper, the soldiers on the peacekeeping mission are supposed to be paid $460 apiece each month. This is a sizeable reduction from the $1,028 peacekeepers pocketed each month when the mission commenced in 2007. Budgetary cuts from entities that hold the purse strings of the mission such as the European Union (EU) are in part responsible for the reduction.

While these entities have continued disbursing the funds, anecdotal evidence from returning Ugandan peacekeepers indicates that they have gone several months without pay. The battle group that returned in November of 2021 for instance claims to have gone nine months without pay.