Uganda Military Chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba on Tuesday announced a deployment of Uganda special forces to Juba, South Sudan.
On his official X account, formally Twitter, General Muhoozi has said an attack on South Sudan’s presidency is an attack on Uganda
“As of 2 days ago, our special forces entered Juba, We shall protect the entire territory of South Sudan like it was our own,” reads part of his social media post.
According to the Uganda Military Chief, the special forces are meant to help President Salva Kiir to “secure” his presidency.
Kiir and his deputy Dr. Riek Machar has in recent times lock horns in implementing a peace deal raising fears that their fragile peace deal could collapse and a conflict could resume.
The South Sudanese government is yet to respond on the decision by Gen Kainerugaba who on his part did not give concrete reasons for the deployment of special forces to the neighbouring state.
“Any move against Kiir “is a declaration of war against Uganda”. He added on his X platform.
Video of UPDF troops arriving at Juba International Airport. Source X
Earlier this month, the deputy chief of the army and two ministers allegedly allied to Dr. Machar were arrested by the security forces, a move which an opposition called a “grave violation” of the peace deal.
One of the ministers has since been released.
This coming after a killing of a SSPDF Gen and 27 solider during a United Nations’ evacuation in Nasir.
In 2013 after the civil war, Uganda deployed its troops to bolster Kiir’s forces against Machar, but were eventually withdrawn in 2015.
A 2018 power-sharing agreement between the two stopped the fighting, but key elements of the deal have not been implemented; including a new constitution, an election and the reunification of armed groups into a single army.
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