Injured Ugandan soldier evacuated from Somalia to Nairobi

One of the two UPDF soldiers, who were shot and injured by Islamist fighters in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Monday, has been evacuated to Nairobi for treatment.The Defence/army spokesperson, Maj. Felix Kulayigye, told Daily Monitor yesterday that the unidentified soldier is now in Nairobi receiving treatment after Islamists fired mortar bombs at the presidential palace and attacked African Union (AU) peacekeepers. Maj. Kulayigye said: “The other (soldier) remained in Mogadishu receiving treatment because he had minor injuries. UPDF will not deploy more troops despite the increased attacks on the AU forces by the Islamists.”The increased Islamists’ attacks on the peacekeepers, have forced AU to call on the UN to impose sanctions on Eritrea, which Mogadishu accuses of backing the fighters. But Eritrea has denied the allegations.Uganda and Burundi each recently deployed a battalion in Somalia making a total of over 4,300 peacekeepers in the lawlessness country. However, this has still left vacuum of 4,700 soldiers needed for the peace keeping mission in fragile Somalia.Maj. Kulayigye said Uganda Battle Group Four (Ugabag4) will be leaving to replace the batch that is coming back home soon. According to BBC, AU has called for a no fly-zone along with a sea blockade off Somalia to stem the flow of weapons from Eritrea.Islamist fighters took up arms in 2007 to force Ethiopian troops out of Somalia propping up a Western-backed government which failed to wield control over much of Somalia.