Uganda begins withdrawing peacekeeping troops that helped repel militants in Somalia

Uganda is withdrawing troops from Somalia, where they have been part of an African Union peacekeeping forceKAMPALA, Uganda -- KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda is withdrawing troops deployed for years in Somalia under an African Union peacekeeping force that helped repel militants in the Horn of Africa nation, military authorities said on Monday.Ugandan troops are returning home under the terms of a bilateral agreement with Somali authorities, military spokesman Col. Chris Magezi said in a statement. “The first cohort of troops under the phased withdrawal operation have already arrived back in Uganda,” the statement said. All Ugandan troops are expected to depart Somalia by the end of 2027. Magezi told The Associated Press that thousands of Ugandans remain deployed in Somalia. Ugandan troops were first deployed to Somalia in 2007 under the banner of an African Union mission presently known as the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM. It was a very dangerous deployment at a time when the extremist rebels of al-Shabab had to be dislodged from markets and other public areas in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Many Ugandan peacekeepers were killed or wounded over the ...