KAMPALA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan military on Saturday said it has sent a team of experts to investigate the Friday attack on its troops in Somalia by the militant group al-Shabab.
The military in a statement issued here said the team will investigate circumstances under which the east African country's peacekeepers in Somalia were attacked.
Uganda is one of the troop contributing countries to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) battling terrorists in Somalia. Others are Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia.
The military called for calm in the country as the investigations start.
"A team of UPDF (Uganda People's Defence Forces) under the leadership of the Commander of Land Forces, Lt. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga, has been dispatched to Somalia to ascertain the circumstances under which the attack happened and devise the way forward," the statement said.
Ugandan peacekeepers deployed under ATMIS were attacked by al-Shabab in Bulo Marer, 120 km southwest on Mogadishu in Lower Shabelle region, according to the military. The army is yet to establish the number of casualties. The militant group claims to have killed more than 130 soldiers. ■