The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has confirmed that two of their soldiers have been sentenced to death for killing Somali civilians.
In a statement, the peacekeeping mission said the two soldiers and three others handed 39 years in prison will be repatriated from Somalia to Uganda to serve their sentences
“As soldiers, we have a responsibility to protect lives and property. Our mission in Somalia is to degrade Al-Shabaab and other armed groups. In doing so, we absolutely have every responsibility to protect the civilian population, and this is very clear in our Rules of Engagement,” said the Ugandan People Defence Force Contingent and AMISOM Sector 1 Commander, Brig. Gen. Don Nabasa.
The Head of AMISOM, Francisco Madeira, thanked the Government of the Republic of Uganda and the Federal Government of Somalia for their co-operation and support.
Ambassador Madeira deeply regrets the killing of the civilians and has, once again, conveyed his and AMISOM’s condolences to the bereaved families for the tragic incident.
“As a Mission, AMISOM remains deeply committed to the cause of peace, security and stability in Somalia and the protection of the local population in strict respect of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), International Human Rights Law, and AMISOM rules of Engagement. All these instruments are part and parcel of our core values and mandate,” said Ambassador Madeira.
AMISOM Ugandan Forces operating near the Golweyn village killed seven civilians on 10th August 2021.