UPDF hands over Bariire base as Somalia troop drawdown begins

The back-and-forth battle over Bariire Forward Operating Base in Somalia has continued to play out, with the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) handing over the base to the Somali National Army, for the third time after they recaptured it from the Al-Shabaab militants.

The Ugandan contingent of African Union troops first wrested the agriculturally rich region in lower Shabelle from the militants in 2017 and thereafter, handed it over to the Somali National Army. However, Al-Shabaab recaptured the area in 2019, forcing the UPDF to intervene and kick them out again in 2020. The…