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Ugandan military not to deploy in Nigeria to fight Boko Haram militants

Xinhua, February 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Uganda's military chief on Thursday said the East African country will not deploy troops in Nigeria to fight Boko Haram militants.

Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, Chief of Defense Forces, told Xinhua by telephone that there are no plans by the country to send troops in northern Nigeria as part of regional efforts to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency.

"There is nothing like that (deploying troops in Nigeria). I am not aware of any plan by UPDF (Uganda People's Defense Forces) to deploy or send any troops to Nigeria," said Gen. Katumba.

"As UPDF we are always ready to deploy anywhere there is a problem. But there is no such a plan at the moment to deploy in Nigeria," he said.

Some local media on Thursday reported that UPDF is to deploy two battalions in Nigeria as part of the continental effort to tackle the conflict in the West African country.

Ugandan troops have been involved in peacekeeping missions and combat operations in Somalia, South Sudan and Central African Republic, where they are hunting down the notorious Lord's Resistance Army's rebels.

African leaders agreed last week at the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to send 7,500 strong force to fight Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria.

The move came after the African Union's Peace and Security Council urged heads of state to endorse the deployment of troops from five West African countries to fight the armed group.

The Boko Haram militants are notorious for abductions, ruthless massacres, burning of churches and other public institutions in northern part of the country.

The insurgents recently launched cross-border attacks from Nigeria into Cameroon and Chad as part of its drive for an Islamic state in the north-east of Nigeria.

The Boko Haram attacks in northern Nigeria have intensified over the last few weeks as the country prepares for the Feb. 14 elections.

The Boko Haram's five-year insurgency has killed about 10,000 people in the last year and displaced at least 1 million. Endi