By Leonard Kamugisha Akida and Annet Nakanwagi,
KAMPALA
Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has tasked the government to withdraw all Ugandan forces from foreign countries to return to Uganda and defend their country.
“We request and we demand that l government brings back our soldiers to come and defend our people,” FDC demanded
The call to action follows a recent terror alerts by the United Kingdom (UK) I which it provided travel advisories to her citizens within and those coming to Uganda to be cautious about possible terror attacks targeting public places in Uganda.
“You should be vigilant at all times, especially in crowded areas and public places like hotels, transport hubs, restaurants and bars, and during major gatherings like sporting or religious events and when in close proximity to Government buildings or security installations such as police stations,” a statement on UK website read in parts.
According to a statement, the attacks could be indiscriminate or against foreign nationals or places frequented by foreign nationals.
Harold Kaija, the FDC deputy Secretary General asserts that the deployment of Ugandan soldiers in other countries puts the lives of Ugandans at a danger as the terror groups in those countries may turn to attack Uganda in revenge.
“The constitution of Uganda provides that our forces in Uganda their major role is protect Ugandans, their lives and property and the borders of this country. So, when we don’t have enough power and money and our soldiers are in foreign countries like Equatorial Guniea, South Sudan, Chad , DRC etc where they appear to be like missionaries, that puts the people of Uganda to danger because those adventures have caused us more enemies than friends who kill Ugandans in revenge of our soldiers being in their countries,” he said.
Kaija was addressing journalists at the FDC headquarters in Najjanankumbi Kampala on Monday July 3.
However, while speaking at a joint security presser at police headquarters in Naguru Kampala, police spokesperson SCP Fred Enanga said Uganda is safe despite numerous threats adding that security is committed to foil any attacks against the country.
“We want to reassure Ugandans that the country has been generally peaceful for many years despite existing threats targeting soft targets,” Enanga said.
On the other hand, the police spokesperson clarified that the ADF remains a great threat to Uganda challenging the manner in which the UK terror alert was released because it did not specify the exact enemies making it difficult to security to identify them.
“The way the advisory was released makes it difficult for security agencies to determine the specifics because it comes in form of general information and doesn’t mention the targets. We acknowledge the concern and use the general information shared to determine which protective measures to be put in place by the joint security agencies.” he said.
