Ugandan Army Officers Dismissed for Showing Cowardice during Assault on Somalia's Bulo Marer Atmis Base

Two Ugandan military officers have been found guilty of cowardice by a military court in Uganda. The officers, Colonel Deo Akiki and Major John Oluka, had fled the scene when al-Shabab militants attacked an African Union base in Bulo Marer in May. The attack resulted in the death of at least 50 Ugandan soldiers. Uganda is a part of the African Union force that is assisting the Somali government in its fight against al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked extremist group. The assault on Bulo Marer was one of the deadliest incidents for the African Union force, known as AMISOM, since it launched a new offensive against al-Shabab. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni expressed his dissatisfaction with the military's response to the attack. The court heard that Akiki and Oluka had been given a warning about the impending assault but failed to take any action to prevent it. Instead, they abandoned their troops and sought refuge in another base. Both officers have been expelled from the army. Additionally, four non-commissioned officers were also found guilty of failing to protect military equipment. The African Union force, consisting of 19,000 troops, has been deployed in Somalia since 2007, successfully pushing al-Shabab out of several cities. It is scheduled to hand over security responsibilities to the Somali government forces and withdraw from the country next year. However, the offensive against al-Shabab has reached a stalemate, and the extremist group continues to control many rural areas of Somalia.