VOA News
Ugandan soldiers hid for six days before being rescued after al-Shabab militants overran their base, a spokesperson for the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces (UPDF) told VOA Somali.
Brigadier General Felix Kulaigye said the four soldiers, including a lieutenant, survived by hiding within and around the base in the town of Bulo Marer, 110 kilometers south of Mogadishu.
He said the troops were found after the Ugandan contingent retook the base on Thursday.
“When we recovered, they were weak because they were only surviving on urine,” Kulaigye said.
He said each of the soldiers was hiding alone, in separate locations.
“They were weak out of hunger,” he said.
“The lieutenant had been wounded, his leg was in bad shape and they have been treated in hospital, but they are promising to recover very well.”
The news comes as President Yoweri Museveni disclosed that 54 Ugandan soldiers were killed in the May 26 attack.
“We discovered the lifeless bodies of fifty-four fallen soldiers, including a Commander,” Museveni said in a tweet.
Uganda sent a team led by land forces commander Lieutenant General Kayanja Muhanga to Somalia to investigate the attack.
Museveni singled out two commanders for making a “mistake” by ordering the soldiers to retreat.
