Uganda sends more Police officers to Somalia

A contingent of 13 individual police officers (IPOS) have been flagged off for a peace keeping mission in Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) .

The group was on Tuesday seen off by AIGP Grace Turyagumanawe, Police Director in charge of Peace Support Operations and urged them to always keep the Ugandan flag high wherever they will be deployed.

"Keep the good  discipline as you go to serve in  peace operation .Follow the United Nations and African Union codes of conduct and this way, the Ugandan flag will be kept high,” Turyagumanawe told the officers at the Police Headquarters  in Naguru.

He asked them to act with the highest level of professionalism, integrity and respect for culture and on top of observing human rights and international humanitarian laws while in Somalia.

The group is expected to spend a year in Somalia before returning.

Unlike the UPDF which operates both in both Mogadishu and the interior of Somalia, Uganda police officers operate only in Mogadishu as part of the airport security detail.

Uganda first deployed officers from the formed police unit in 2012 and the officers from the unit do patrols to ensure maintenance of law and order.

Uganda Police officers also train Somali counterparts, contribute to public order management and also participate in search and cordon operations among others.

Uganda was the first country to deploy troops in Somalia under the AMISOM in 2007 in a mission which was described by many as ‘dead or arrival’ but UPDF turned around the situation of anarchy into one that would force other countries to deploy in the country.