TheCable

Following sex abuse charges levelled against military peace keepers in Somalia by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Ugandan army has suspended not less than 15 senior officers.

The suspended officers, who included two generals, commanded the Ugandan contingent of African Union (AU) troops drawn from six nations to help the Somali government combat the militant group al-Shabab, and maintain peace within the country.

Paddy Ankunda, the army spokesman, said on Thursday that the army was investigating the general performance of the force, including the sex abuse allegations.

Earlier, HRW had filed a report exposing allegations against the peace keepers from Uganda and Burundi, who were reported to be sexually abusing Somali women.

Soldiers raped or sexually assaulted women seeking medical assistance or water at AU military bases in Mogadishu, Human Rights Watch said after interviewing 21 victims and dozens of witnesses.

The AU had sent a team to Somalia to investigate the allegations made by the rights group.

Peacekeeping troops from Uganda have been in Somalia since 2007, to help phase out the extremist group, al-Shabab.

The Ugandan military participates regularly in peace keeping missions for the African Union and the United Nations, with successes recorded in the second Sudanese civil war.