Museveni: Kampala terrorists coordinated with groups in Kenya and Somalia

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni says Kampala bombing was planned in Somalia and Kenya [File Photo]

KAMPALA - Uganda President Yoweri Museveni now says Kampala bomb blast architects were in communication with "colleagues" in Kenya and Somalia but failed to give further details on the incident, which left a number of people dead.

In an interview with Reuters about the Nov. 16 bombings in Kampala, which killed three people and were blamed on the Islamic State-aligned Allied Democratic Forces [ADF], Museveni said that there was evidence of coordination from abroad with the men who carried out the attack.

The blasts in the heart of the capital shocked a nation known as a bulwark against violent Islamist militants in East Africa and prompted Museveni to send 1,700 troops into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where the ADF has training camps. But Museveni said foreign links stretched beyond eastern Congo.

"The bombs which they exploded in Kampala recently, we have some indication that they were coordinating with groups in Kenya and in Somalia," Museveni said. "Maybe not command and control but collaboration."

Last week, Museveni launched airstrikes against ADF extremists in DR Congo, in an operation meant to neutralize the team which controls much of Congo Forest. It's not clear if the group has links to Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants, who also have a huge presence in Kenya.

Al-Shabaab, who controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia, has been seeking to topple the fragile UN-backed Somalia administration, but it's the assistance from the African Union Mission Forces [AMISOM] who have played a key role in neutralizing the militants.

Both Kenya and Uganda are Force Contributing nations and have played a key role in pushing for stability in the Horn of Africa nation, thus frequent attacks in Kenya. While Uganda People's Defense Forces [UPDF] has about 4,500 soldiers in Somalia, Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] has close to 3,500.

By the end of this month, the African Union is keen to have a joint mission with United Nations in Somalia, an idea which was first opposed by the federal government of Somalia. The mandate of the AMISOM is set to expire on December 31st according to the August resolution.

GAROWE ONLINE