Uganda Sends Special Forces to South Sudan
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
South Sudan (Republic of South Sudan) became independent in 2011 after bravely fighting against the Arabization and Islamization policies of the political elites in Khartoum (Sudan) for several decades. However, political and ethnic divisions continue to blight South Sudan.
Uganda – after witnessing clashes in the Upper Nile State between the White Army (allied in the past with Machar) and government forces, along with unease in Juba (capital of South Sudan) – decided to respond quickly to events. Therefore, special military forces from Uganda have been sent to “secure” Juba from anti-government forces.
AP News reports, “South Sudan descended into a civil war from 2013 to 2018, during which more than 400,000 people were killed. President Salva Kiir and Machar, his rival, signed a peace agreement in 2018 that is still in the process of implementation.”
Muhoozi Kainerugaba (Special Military Chief of Uganda) said, “As of two days ago, our Special Forces units entered Juba to secure it.”
He continued by ushering a direct threat to anti-government forces in South Sudan.
Kainerugaba said: “We the UPDF (Ugandan military), only recognize one President of South Sudan, H.E. Salva Kiir … any move against him is a declaration of war against Uganda.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Somalia, the Sahel region (comprising several nations), and other parts of this continent have conflicts concerning regional outside involvement.
Reuters reports, “After the civil war erupted in South Sudan in 2013, Uganda deployed its troops in Juba to bolster Kiir’s forces against Machar. They were eventually withdrawn in 2015.”
In 2016, Uganda also sent in special military forces after clashes in Juba and other parts of South Sudan.
South Sudan is blessed with an abundance of resources (including oil, an array of minerals, and fertile agricultural land – this could be exploited for the regional growing populations) that can boost the respective economies of South Sudan and Uganda – if managed adequately.
Also, unlike NATO and Gulf Powers, who collectively destabilized North Africa and parts of West Asia (and Afghanistan), which led to mass immigration, terrorism, and instability – Uganda seeks stability in South Sudan to prevent mass immigration concerning war.
Conflicting reports by ministers in South Sudan deny the deployment of special forces from Uganda. However, videos – and various media agencies in Uganda and further afield – appear to back up the declaration by the armed forces of Uganda being sent to South Sudan.
Events are moving quickly in South Sudan. Hence, information remains sketchy.
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
http://moderntokyotimes.com Modern Tokyo Times – International News and Japan News
http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi’s website and Modern Tokyo Times artist
https://moderntokyonews.com Modern Tokyo News – Tokyo News and International News
PLEASE JOIN ON TWITTER
https://twitter.com/MTT_News Modern Tokyo Times
PLEASE JOIN ON FACEBOOK