Archive for category Uganda

Military News: US Sends Military Advisers To Africa To Hunt Down Joseph Kony And The LRA!

Oct 15

Posted by Matt in Military News, Uganda | 2 Comments

Yes! This is a mission that just makes sense and I will be cheering it on all the way. It is about time and hopefully these guys can find them and eliminate them. Especially since Invisible Children has set up a communications network to give a voice to the people.

Perhaps that will be a big focus in the beginning, and that would be to upgrade the communications networks and even expand them throughout all of the villages.  That map I posted shows exactly the areas that the LRA is at, and the more updates and data coming in from that network, the better. Couple that with some of the toys that these advisers will have, and I am hoping that this mission won’t take long.

But who knows?  The LRA are some serious jungle dwellers, and have survived this long. Personally, I could care less how long it takes, because this is one of those deals that should have been taken care of a long time ago. It is worth the push and it is worth the effort. -Matt

 

Obama sends military advisers to central Africa
By Matt Spetalnick and Laura MacInnis
Oct 14, 2011
President Barack Obama said on Friday he was sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to help and advise government forces battling Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army rebels accused of murder, rape and kidnapping children.
Obama — who once denounced the LRA as an “affront to human dignity” — made clear the troops would serve as trainers and advisers in efforts to hunt down rebel leader Joseph Kony and would not engage in combat except in self-defense.
In a letter to Congress, Obama said the first U.S. forces arrived in Uganda on Wednesday and would be deployed to South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo “subject to the approval of each respective host nation.”
Obama’s decision commits U.S. forces to help confront a rebel group that has drawn international condemnation for decades of chilling violence, including hacking body parts off victims and the abduction of young boys to fight and young girls for use as sex slaves.
While the U.S. military has maintained a large base in Djibouti since 2003, the latest mission marks an expanded role in conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa by putting U.S. troops in the field to support local forces in direct combat with insurgents.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,

Industry Talk: Ugandan PSC’s Eye Business In Somalia After AMISOM Victories

Sep 12

Posted by Matt in Africa, Somalia, Uganda | 1 Comment

Now this is a very interesting development. All of these security contractors from Uganda that have participated in such programs like TWISS in Iraq, are now looking at Somalia as the next market for security contracts. Which makes total sense, and especially since there is a massive pool of Ugandan security contractors created by their efforts in Iraq.

Uganda is also a huge contributor of forces for AMISOM, so it would only be fair that their country’s PSC’s would have a crack at any contracts in Somalia. I would imagine Burundi would also be interested in entering the reconstruction market in Somalia as well. Uganda has also lost 57 plus troops in the war, and Burundi has lost 78. But the real market of force would come out of Uganda.

This pool of security contractors are also trained to western standards, with experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they could be an excellent tool to use for Somalia’s reconstruction plans. But like the article mentioned below, if the gains made by AMISOM are lost, then there really is no chance of PSC’s coming in. We will see how it goes? -Matt

 

Ugandans eye businesses in Somalia
By John Semakula
12th September, 2011
THE business community in Uganda received the news of AMISOM’s recent victory against the al-Shabaab militants in Mogadishu with a smile of hope. ?The community had long wanted to venture into Somalia but the insecurity in the country had hindered it. ?When news emerged that the AU peacekeepers had secured 90% of Mogadishu from the militants, managers of various companies in Uganda started drawing business plans for Somalia.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , ,

Industry Talk: U.S. Pledges More Support To Battle Somali Rebels

Jul 26

Posted by Matt in Africa, Industry Talk, Somalia, Uganda | No Comments

“We have reviewed since Sunday the support that we’re providing to Amisom. We are going to beef that up,” Mr. Crowley said. “We’ve been the major contributor to the Amisom mission. That won’t change.”

The U.S. State Department, under a program known as Africap, provides funding for private contractors to train, outfit, transport and supply African troops in various peacekeeping missions. The State Department’s latest contract, which began in September 2009, provides $1.5 billion to private contractors to outfit Amisom and other troops. 

*****

     This is the part of the article I clued in on.  I imagine ‘beef that up’ equates to more money for the AFRICAP program, and similar programs.  So it will be interesting to see if any new changes come down the pipe.

     If you follow what is going on with Somalia right now, things are happening quickly, that will lead to the reality of more troops from throughout the region joining the AMISOM mission.  My question though is that will these troops be professional enough to do the job, or will they do more harm than good and bring more support to Al Shabab?

     Hopefully with this beefing up process, we also send some folks in there that can assist in organizing and helping along these new troops.  Unfortunately, if what happened to Ethiopia is any clue as to how all this will go down, then these new armies have a lot of work cut out for them. I wish them well though, and I certainly hope they can stick it to the Al Shaboob. -Matt

——————————————————————

U.S. Pledges More Support to Battle Somali Rebels

July 16, 2010

By WILL CONNORS in Kampala, Uganda, and KEITH JOHNSON in Washington

The Obama administration on Thursday said it would bolster its support to the African Union troops providing much of the firepower in Somalia’s battle against al Shabaab, the Somali militant group that has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s deadly blasts in Uganda.

The triple bombing in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, killed 76 people, including one American, gathered in a restaurant and a bar during Sunday’s World Cup soccer final.

Ugandan officials say they believe more than 20 members of Somalia’s al Shabaab militant group entered Uganda several months before the blasts. Ugandan authorities have arrested nine people, all Somalis, in connection with the attack since Monday, according to a Ugandan military official close to the investigation.

Uganda is part of an African Union force that launched an offensive early this month, alongside Somalia’s government, against al Shabaab militants who control large swaths of largely lawless Somalia.

An Al Shabaab leader on Thursday thanked its militants who carried out the weekend attacks and said more such attacks would be carried out in Uganda. “I say to the Ugandan president what has happened in Kampala was only the beginning. We will keep revenging what your soldiers remorselessly did to our people,” Sheik Muktar Abu Zubayr said in an audio message played on Mogadishu radio stations, according to the Associated Press.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Uganda: Uganda Enlists Former LRA To Hunt And Kill LRA

Apr 11

Posted by Matt in Africa, Uganda | No Comments

   Another awesome article by Mr. Gettleman.  This is great news and I wonder if the Ugandan military is reading FJ?  Because if they are, then they more than likely got this idea about turning the enemy from all the stuff I have posted on pseudo operations and the Selous Scouts. Whomever gave them the idea, good job.

   With that said, I would highly recommend to the Ugandan military to also give these former rebels as much support and training as possible.  They have a unique knowledge base about the prey they are going after, and if they have the right tools and support, they could easily gain the edge on any LRA troopers they come across.

    Each of these hunter killer teams should also have Ugandan special forces attached with them.  That way, any kind of CAS that Uganda can bring to the fight, could be called up by trusted SF guys.  Or SF handlers could help to coordinate blocking forces, so they could actually entrap LRA groups. Even AFRICOM could provide assistance with a UAV or two. At the least, Uganda should be studying exactly how the Selous Scouts in Rhodesia conducted their programs. Very cool, and I hope they get that bastard Joseph Kony. -Matt

—————————————————————-

Uganda Enlists Former Rebels to End a War

April 10, 2010

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

OBO, Central African Republic — The night is inky, the helicopters are late and Cmdr. Patrick Opiyo Makasi sits near a dying cooking fire on a remote army base, spinning his thoughts into the darkness.

“It was either them or me,” Commander Makasi said of the countless people he has killed. “Them or me.”

The Lord’s Resistance Army, a notoriously brutal rebel group, snatched him from a riverbank when he was 12 years old, more than 20 years ago, and trained him to burn, pillage and slaughter. His name, Makasi, means scissors in Kiswahili, and fellow soldiers said he earned it by shearing off ears and lips.

But now he has a new mission: hunting down his former boss.

In an unorthodox strategy that could help end this seemingly pointless war, the Ugandan Army is deploying special squads of experienced killers to track down the L.R.A.’s leader, Joseph Kony, one of the most wanted men in Africa, who has been on the run for two decades.

These soldiers, like Commander Makasi, are former L.R.A. fighters themselves, and just about all of them were abducted as children. They recently surrendered and are now wading through black rivers and head-high elephant grass across three of the most troubled countries in the world — the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan — where the last remnants of the L.R.A. are believed to be hiding. They say they know all of Mr. Kony’s tricks.

Some critics may not think this wise, putting so much trust in men whose moral compass had been turned upside down for so long.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,

Africa: East Africa Oil, AFRICOM Is In Position, And 10,000 Ugandans With Iraq Experience Are Ready

Mar 24

Posted by Matt in Africa, Industry Talk, Somalia, Uganda | 1 Comment

   This is a quick one I wanted to put out.  I was talking with friends the other day about the Ugandans in Iraq, and how significant their work is to the economy of Uganda.  The money brought in from security work, surpasses what is made off their chief export called coffee, and that is pretty significant.  So the question is, what happens when the work dries up in Iraq?  All of these Ugandan guards are going to be looking for work, and most of the security work in Afghanistan is going to the local nationals.

   So this is what I am starting to piece together, and I am going to take a guess as to where all these guards are going to go next.  I think the plan all along was to professionalize Ugandans for a whole slew of tasks that AFRICOM and the west has in mind for East Africa.  From dealing with Jihadists in Somalia with the AU force, to providing recruits for the Ugandan Army so they can deal with the LRA and others, to protecting this new ‘hot oil zone’ in East Africa.  Ugandans are gonna be in high demand, and we have effectively trained them up with the work in Iraq. Intentional or not, I thought it was interesting to make the connection for the big picture.

   This is not to say that this was the official strategy of the US and AFRICOM all along.  But you have to look at these three stories below, and not think ‘how convenient’?  lol The coming resource war is all about securing our place at the oil trough and making sure there are competent forces to protect that stuff. Thanks to Iraq, we now have a ton of ready made guards or ‘soldiers’ to make that happen.  Let me know what you guys think. -Matt

Edit: 06/11/2010- This is an excellent run down of the current dynamics of oil in this East Africa region.  Good job to Jody.

“Uganda’s recent oil discovery has the chance to reshape relations with its neighbors and the West as energy multinationals eye potential opportunities“

By Jody Ray Bennett for ISN Security Watch

——————————————————————–

East Africa is next hot oil zone

March. 10, 2010

NAIROBI, Kenya, March 10 (UPI) — East Africa is emerging as the next oil boom following a big strike in Uganda’s Lake Albert Basin. Other oil and natural gas reserves have been found in Tanzania and Mozambique and exploration is under way in Ethiopia and even war-torn Somalia.

The region, until recently largely ignored by the energy industry, is “the last real high-potential area in the world that hasn’t been fully explored,” says Richard Schmitt, chief executive officer of Dubai’s Black Marlin Energy, which is prospecting in East Africa.

The discovery at Lake Albert, in the center of Africa between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is estimated to contain the equivalent of several billion barrels of oil. It is likely to be the biggest onshore field found south of the Sahara Desert in two decades.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , ,