Somalia: Al Shabaab parades captured UPDF soldier in Southern Somalia

BARIRE, Somalia- Al Shabaab militant group said it had captured Ugandan soldier serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in a special operation in southern Somalia on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.

The soldier whose name has not yet been identified was captured at an area located 3 km west of Qoryoley district, where AMISOM was accused for civilian causalities after shooting a minibus with RPG this week.

The captured UPDF soldier was later paraded in Barire village by Al Shabaab insurgents in a pickup vehicle as a prisoner of war. AMISOM has already confirmed one of its soldiers gone missing from the military camp in Qoryoley town.

"An AMISOM soldier deserted AMISOM’s defensive position at Qoryoley district on Wednesday  at 8:00 a.m. and we will continue with the search to find this missing soldier," AU mission said in a Twitter post.

Local residents in Barire town told GO that the soldier appeared in handcuffs and dressed in an apparent UPDF uniform with a Ugandan flag during the show off.

Previously, Al Shabaab has captured six soldiers from Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) after a massive bomb and gun attack on AMISOM's military base in Janaale district in Lower Shabelle region in September 2015.

Subsequently, the group released a video in 2016, showing a UPDF soldier held as prisoner of war for over a year, requesting from his Ugandan government to act to free him from the Somalia-based militants.

In the Al Shabaab video, the UPDF soldier has identified himself as Masassa M.Y. who has been serving with AMISOM in Somalia since June 2015, before he was captured in September 2015 attack in Janaale.

Al Qaida-linked Al Shabaab group was pushed out from major towns in central and southern Somalia but still carries out sporadic attacks against Somali security forces and Allied AMISOM troops in a bid overthrow the UN-backed Somali government in Mogadishu.

GAROWEONLINE