Ugandan military investigates Somalia chopper crash

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) has launched active investigations into the recent chopper crash in Somalia, which saw four peacekeepers survive the ordeal narrowly, moments after taking off from Mogadishu.

UPDF spokesperson Felix Kulayigye said investigations had been launched to establish the cause of the accident. The transport chopper went down minutes after taking off from Mogadishu en route to Ballidogle, where Somalia’s elite forces are trained.

Kulayigye said the chopper was flying from Mogadishu to Belidoogle airfield, about 90 km northwest of the Somali capital, with four people on board. The US Africa Command supervises the airport.

“The aircraft [chopper] crash landed and all on board are safe [survived]. Whenever there is an air accident there must be an investigation,” said Kulayigye.

Uganda is one of the troop-contributing countries to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia. Others include Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Burundi, and most importantly support from the US Africa Command troops.

Air crashes are common in the country but no single incident has been attributed to the Al-Shabaab militants, a group straining to overthrow the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia. The al-Shabaab militants do not have the military capability to bring down air crafts.

The group, however, runs several checkpoints across the country from which they get revenue for running their day-to-day activities. As of last year, studies showed that the al-Shabaab could collect up to $130 million from extortion.

Ugandan peacekeepers manage most parts of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, and are part of the team expected to leave the Horn of Africa nation by the end of this year. A new mission dubbed the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission (AUSSOM) under Egypt shall take over.

GAROWE ONLINE