By Frank Kamuntu
Mogadishu – It’s a grief moment for Uganda People’s Defense Forces after their helicopter that was on a mission to support AMISOM troops crashed minutes after take-off in Balidogle in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia on February 5, 2021.
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According to AMISOM, all the four soldiers aboard the helicopter were rescued and are in a stable medical condition.
“Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the crash. However, preliminary reports indicate that it was due to a mechanical failure,” says AMISOM.
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It adds that the helicopter belonged to AMISOM Aviation Unit from the Uganda People’s Defence Force, UPDF.
The chopper that crashed on Friday is one of the few belonging to the UPDF aviation unit that was deployed to Somalia in July for the first time in eight years.
READ ALSO: Somalis Heap Praises On AMISOM For Maintaining Peace And Stability In War-Torn Islamic State
The first attempt in 2012 ended disastrously when three out of four choppers crashed in Kenya on their way to Mogadishu but up to now, Uganda is yet to receive compensation from the UN as negotiations over the same continue.
It is now yet clear whether the latest chopper will be compensated.
On thereother hand, however, UPDF still in Somalia (AMISOM) over the weekend donated COVID-19 personal protective equipment and sanitary items to an Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camp in Mogadishu to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the founding of Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF).
READ ALSO: Somalia:US Organisation Donates Multimillion Medical Items To AMISOM
Known as ‘Tarehe Sita,’ it also commemorates the day when the National Resistance Army (NRA), led by Yoweri Museveni, launched an armed struggle to end misrule in Uganda. This year, the 40th ‘Tarehe Sita’ was celebrated under the theme, ‘Celebrating UPDF at 40: Fruits of a fulfilled partnership of maintaining and consolidating people’s security, stability and prosperity’.
Joined by local leaders and residents from Hamar Jajab district of Mogadishu, the UPDF troops also cleaned Marine Market within the AMISOM Basecamp to encourage sanitation and hygiene especially as the world fights a pandemic.
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“Our contribution of PPEs to Internally Displaced People will help them to protect themselves while the world looks to finding a lasting solution to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to focus on our mandate and the mission in Somalia to ensuring security and stability in this part of the region,” said the Deputy Commander of the AMISOM Ugandan contingent, Col. John Winston Mugarura.
The Hamar Jajab District Commissioner, Mohamed Abdi Ahmed thanked AMISOM for the donation towards the fight against COVID-19 and praised the cordial relations between AMISOM troops and members of the community.
“The items donated by the AMISOM Ugandan contingent will help the area residents, especially those living in the Towfiq IDP camp. They include liquid detergents, sanitisers, face masks, and others”.
