UPDF hands over Bariire base to Somali army

The Uganda Peoples Defence ;Forces (UPDF) working under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) on Saturday formally handed over the Bariire Forward Operating Base (FOB) to the Somali National Army (SNA).

Bariire becomes the seventh FOB to be handed over to the Federal Government of Somalia in the recent past with the others being Xaaji Cali, Mirtiquo, Cadale, Albao, Gherille, and Al Jazeera 1 as ATMIS commences the third phase of the troop drawdown.

Brigadier General Anthony Lukwago Mbuusi, the Sector One Commander of the Ugandan contingent of AMISOM, presided over the transfer and ;control of Bariire FOB to Major Muhudin Ahmed of the SNA.

ATMIS forces have five sectors controlled by different troop-contributing countries and Uganda in particular, controls sector one which has the capital Mogadishu city, Benadir region and lower Shabelle region.

“Today is a milestone when the ATMIS hands over this particular place. This particular place was first liberated in 2017 by the Ugandan forces and we went on to hand it over to SNA but due to unavoidable circumstances, the position was retaken from SNA by Al-Shabab. We again came back and liberated it, handed it back to them but it was again liberated. However, that did not stop the UPDF from coming back last year when we were asked to liberate it and we came in March and re-occupied it in March till now. It was supposed to be for a short time about 90 days but it was not possible and we kept on holding this ground until Saturday when we handed it over to SNA,” Brig. Gen. Lukwago said.

Lukwago said he was hopeful and that this time around, the ATMIS forces had mentored and trained the SNA and he hoped they would be able to defend the location and the population they had been guarding in the area.

“We commend everyone that has supported us, the UN, the community together with the Somali forces. We have worked with them and we continue arguing that they should continue working with the civilian population as they are the centre of gravity, if they don’t work with the civilian population, the Al-Shabab will take them away and yet they have been good people to work with. I was also pleased that when I saw the number that came in to take over the position, it gives me the courage that I am leaving behind a force that will be able to man this place. I know that the Al-Shabab would want ;to take over this position but I know they won’t. We are just a stone's throw away from here and we can always come back in case of anything. Once we are called upon to supplement their security, we will always be available,” Brig. Gen. Lukwago added.

Brig. Gen. Lukwago noted that while operating under the Bariire FOB they had secured the towns of Janalle, Aw Dhigle, and Bariire, ;located southwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu along the Shabelle River ;but it was unfortunate the entire ATMIS was now going through faces of drawdown and it was time SNA started handling their matters in their own hands.

“The entire ATMIS has been going through phases of drawdown, the figure of 2000 for this particular phase 3 and particularly this month June, from its current strength of over 15,000 troops. This particular month, Uganda as a troop-contributing country is supposed to draw down 400 troops and part of them are coming from this particular FOB in Bariire,” he stated.

Colonel Suleiman Ibrahim, who represented the ATMIS Deputy Force Commander for Support and Logistics, oversaw the proceedings, ensuring a smooth handover process.

Major Bruhan Nsamba, the outgoing commander of the AMISOM FOB, and Captain Abdisalam Jama, the incoming SNA FOB commander, were also present, demonstrating continuity and coordination between the outgoing and incoming forces.

The event marking the Ugandan soldiers in the area was also attended by senior officials from both AMISOM and the SNA involved in the transition process, which saw Somali Forces taking full responsibility for their security.

The ongoing third phase of the troop drawdown follows the successful completion of the first two phases, finalised in June 2023 and January 2024, respectively.

During these phases, AMISOM reduced its troop presence by 5,000 personnel and handed over a total of 17 FOBs in the first phase and 10 in the second phase.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).