Uganda’s Somalia adventure
BY ANDREW MWENDA On May 26, 2023, Al Shabab attacked a UPDF base in Somalia with devastating effects. UPDF said 54 soldiers were killed while Al Shaba claimed to have killed 137. I had grown wary of our mission and sought to understand the experience of similar missions elsewhere. That is how I came to read The Afghanistan Papers, an insightful book by Craig Whitlock. Whitlock’s book found me thinking about how futile UPDF’s mission in Somalia is. I have visited Somalia thrice and been impressed by the performance of our troops. In 2012, UPDF mounted a campaign to kick Al Shabab out of Mogadishu. It was the most ferocious campaign it ever fought. Al Shabab contested every inch of ground. Like the battle of Stalingrad, UPDF had to fight for every street, every block, every floor of every block […]