Friends For Peace In Africa

• Africa Command (AFRICOM) is setting up a regional unit in Uganda for "handling natural disaster and humanitarian assistance requirements"
  
• Deployment headquarters will be setup in Entebbe and Kitgum, Northern Uganda
  
• Military unit will host soldiers from six nations, including: Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda
  
• Code name for the operation: "Exercise Natural Fire 10" Save

US to set up humanitarian units in Entebbe and Northern Uganda

Pauline Kairu | Jinja

The US Army is to set a regional humanitarian unit in Uganda to help the continent in handling natural disasters and humanitarian assistance requirements.

Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III, commander of the US Army Africa Command, announced the development during a visit to the Senior Command and Staff College-Kimaka, Jinja last week.

The establishment, to be set up in Entebbe in October will host a temporary military unit made up of a contingent of soldiers from six participating nations including Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda from which the US will coordinate the exercise code-named ‘Exercise Natural Fire 10’

“This will be a small deployment headquarters designed to be part of a larger multinational response to disaster or humanitarian assistance requirement on the continent,” Maj. Gen. Garret said.

He said this would be the largest exercise the Africa Command will be conducting in Africa this year. The exercise also consists of training in which the six participating forces will be trained on how to deal with natural catastrophes, relief exercises such as response to earth quakes, major disasters, and other emergencies.

The Entebbe camp will mainly focus on equipping the participating regional militaries with the skills to deal with emergences. He said the work at the unit will be centred on humanitarian assistance and relief interventions focused in Uganda but with capacity to assist any need that may arise on the continent.

A subsidiary unit will also be setup in Kitgum, an area that has just come out of civil unrest.