Mogadishu, Somalia | Xinhua | The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Thursday ended four-day induction training for 160 newly deployed police officers to help enhance their peacekeeping role in the country. The AU mission said the police officers from Uganda who will be in Somalia for a year were …
Read More »Newly deployed UPDF soldiers in Somalia tasked to secure supply routes
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The newly deployed Uganda People’s Defence Force-UPDF soldiers in Somalia have been tasked to secure supply routes. More than 1,600 UPDF soldiers were recently deployed in Somalia under battle group 31 to replace their colleagues who completed their one-year tour of duty on African Union …
Read More »FAO seeks funding for locust fight in Somalia
Mogadishu, Somalia | Xinhua | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Wednesday appealed for additional funding to enable it to scale up operations against desert locusts in Somalia. The UN agency said the international community has committed 50.4 million U.S. dollars so far to support FAO and …
Read More »US to withdraw main force from Somalia by early 2021
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & XINHUA | Commanders of The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) face an anxious next 30 days with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s eyes on an election at home while US President Donald Trump is ordering a reduction of troops from the region. The US …
Read More »UN issues alert on new wave of desert locusts in Somalia
Mogadishu, Somalia | Xinhua | The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has issued an alert on the fresh desert locust invasions in Somalia that pose a huge threat to food security. In its desert locust situation update, FAO said more swarms will in the next days …
Read More »UN decries rising cases of sexual violence against Somali children
Mogadishu, Somalia | XINHUA | Sexual violations against children continue at an alarming rate in Somalia and there is little or no opportunity to seek justice, the UN children’s fund UNCIEF said on Monday. In a statement issued in Mogadishu ahead of the fifth anniversary of Somalia’s ratification of the Convention …
Read More »UN honors Ugandan troops for serving in volatile Somalia
Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA | United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has honored 600 Ugandan troops guarding UN facilities and personnel in volatile Somalia. Lt. Col. Deo Akiiki, deputy Ugandan military spokesman tweeted that the troops, serving under the sixth United Nations Guard Unit in Somalia received medals from Guterres. “The …
Read More »All Ugandan truck drivers to be tested
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health will with immediate effect counsel and test all truck drivers employed in Uganda. No truck driver will also be allowed from entering the country from tonight unless they have negative COVID-19 results. All those tested, will then have to adopt …
Read More »Kenya demands probe as plane crash kills 6 over Somalia
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s foreign ministry Tuesday called for a swift investigation after a humanitarian plane helping the fight against coronavirus crashed in Somalia in “unclear” circumstances, killing all six people onboard. The Kenyan private cargo plane was undertaking a humanitarian mission related to the pandemic when it crashed Monday afternoon in Bardale …
Read More »Humanitarian agencies fear looming locust catastrophe
Damage to crops and pasture already reported across Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Humanitarian agencies are warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in eastern Africa as a result of the ongoing desert locust invasion around the region. Eastern Africa hosts about 14 million refugees, the majority …
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