MOGADISHU (Sunatimes)-Ugandan soldiers in Somalia were yesterday said to be secure and planning a counter-offensive after advancing Al-Shabab fighters reportedly killed 20 civilians in renewed attacks in Mogadishu.

Maj-Ba-Hoku Barigye, the spokesman for the African Union peacekeeping force, comprising largely Ugandan troops, said there is "no cause for alarm". He, however, said they are "on alert 20 hours a day."

"This city (Mogadishu) is like an ocean tide; the Al-Shabab always make those manoeuvres but there is nothing, whatsoever, to worry about," he told this newspaper by phone from Somalia.

Some 40 Ugandan soldiers have perished in the restive Mogadishu since 2007. 

Source: Daily Monitor