A Ugandan soldier shot and killed three colleagues serving in Somalia as part of an African Union peacekeeping force, the Ugandan army said on Tuesday.
Uganda People’s Defense Force spokesman Brig. General Felix Kulayigye said the soldier woke up Monday morning and “threw bullets” at his colleagues. The four were part of the force guarding the international airport in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
“We were wondering if he was stressed or had a mental problem and we didn’t know,” Kulayigye said, adding that the Ugandan army has set up a board of inquiry to find the cause of the shooting.
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He said the soldier was arrested and will be flown to Uganda to face a military court martial.
An airplane landing at Aden Adde International Airport on September 4, 2022 in Mogadishu, Somalia. A Ugandan soldier fatally shot three colleagues guarding the airport at the Somali Capitol.
(Ed Ram/Getty Images))
Uganda has had troops in Somalia since 2007 to fight Somali insurgents seeking to overthrow the government in Mogadishu. Kenya, Burundi, Djibouti and Ethiopia also have troops with the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.
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The last such shooting involving Ugandan soldiers in Somalia occurred in May 2019 when a soldier shot dead his superior officer before committing suicide.
In 2017, Uganda’s national psychiatric hospital opened a unit to help soldiers, especially those who served in Somalia, cope with trauma following a rise in cases of soldiers killing people in public places.
