The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
KAMPALA, UGANDA | Xinhua | Uganda’s military has dispatched a team to investigate the deadly helicopter crash that killed five peacekeepers and injured six others in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
Felix Kulayigye, Uganda’s military spokesperson, told Xinhua by telephone that the team will investigate the cause of the Mi-24 helicopter crash, which occurred about 200 meters east of the North Ramp at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu on July 2.
“This is an internal matter. The work (probe) is already going on,” said Kulayigye.
The helicopter, operated by the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces contingent under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, crashed after departing from Baledogle Airfield, about 90 km northwest of Mogadishu.
It was carrying eight personnel, including six crew members. The pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer survived but sustained serious injuries and severe burns. The other passengers were killed, and three civilians on the ground were also injured.
Last September, the Ugandan military lost a transport helicopter on a flight from Mogadishu to Baledogle Airfield. All four peacekeepers on board survived that incident, according to the military.
Uganda has been one of the key troop-contributing countries to the African Union peacekeeping mission in the Horn of Africa since 2007. ■
