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Uganda Considers Troop Withdrawal from South Sudan
Peter Clottey
Last updated on: February 19, 2014 3:41 PM
Uganda's Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa says troops from the Uganda People's
Defense Force (UPDF) currently fighting rebels in neighboring South Sudan
will be withdrawn beginning in April.
Uganda has come under pressure from some countries in the region as well as
from Washington to withdraw its troops from South Sudan.
But, Fred Opolot spokesman for Uganda's foreign ministry denied the
proposed troop pull-out was in response to pressure on the government in
Kampala.
He says the proposal for a pull-out follows consultations with the
government in Juba, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),
as well as the African Union (AU), which plans to send in replacement
troops to help stabilize the security situation in South Sudan.
"Uganda has no desire to keep our troops on South Sudan soil unnecessarily.
It is within that context that Uganda has proposed with the agreement of
the South Sudan government on the deployment of the African capacity for
immediate response to crisis that was agreed [upon] at the AU," said Opolot.
South Sudan's violence has so far left thousands dead and hundreds of
thousands displaced from their homes.
Uganda opposition groups have criticized the government for the troop
deployment saying they have turned UPDF troops into mercenaries.
The charges came after South Sudan defense minister admitted the government
in Juba is paying Uganda for its troops helping to fight the rebellion. For
his part, Opolot strongly disagrees.
"Uganda [UPDF] is not a mercenary force. Uganda went to South Sudan
[because] the security situation in the country was deteriorating. In fact,
the time that Uganda was going in there was an urgent need to prevent a
potentially genocidal situation, which was arising out of the crisis," said
Opolot. "Certainly Uganda was assisting South Sudan open humanitarian
corridors to allow food and other relief supplies."
Uganda's government initially said it deployed troops to South Sudan to
secure the airport to allow for the evacuation of its citizens and other
foreign nationals trapped there due to the conflict.
But, South Sudan's former vice president Riek Machar accused UPDF troops of
interfering in the country's internal affairs after Ugandan troops fought
alongside the national army to attack rebel positions.
Last week, Sudan demanded the withdrawal of UPDF forces after a Sudanese
military official said the presence of Uganda's troop's in South Sudan
poses a threat to its national security as well as a destabilizing effect
on the entire region. Again Opolot disagreed.
"Sudan can say whatever it wants," said Opolot. "IGAD has only reiterated
that at one point there would have to be a progressive withdrawal of allied
forces in South Sudan. It did not mean only Ugandan forces should
withdraw."
Clottey interview with Fred Opolot, Uganda foreign ministry spokesman
Received on Wed Feb 19 2014 - 19:28:08 EST