The Uganda People's Defence Forces - UPDF have finally completed their withdrawal process from the Central African Republic (CAR).
The contingent commenced a phased withdraw of troops from the Central African Republic on 19th April 2017, ending nearly eight years of manhunt for Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) warlord Joseph Kony.
A statement from Captain Lawrence Draga, the spokesperson of UPDF in 4th Division infantry battalion who also served in CAR as the contingent spokesperson says "today marks the last arrival of Ugandan troops from CAR".
The statement says the "final batch of the troops began trekking from their concentration base in Nzara South Sudan three days ago under the overall command of Brigadier Richard Otto who has been the Ugandan Contingent commander in CAR".
They crossed into Uganda through South Sudan Yei- Kaya Oraba in Koboko district. It is immediately unclear how many personnel make up the batch.
UPDF deployed in 2009 and later in 2012 under a resolution of the African Union which created the AU-led Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the LRA (RCI-LRA).
Contingents of the Central African Armed Forces and the UN's stabilization force, MINUSCA, remain in eastern Central Africa, to take care of the remaining security challenges in the area where UPDF has been active.
Richard Karemire, the UPDF spokesperson earlier said LRA capacity to cause insecurity to Uganda and the region has been greatly degraded although Uganda will keep vigilant on any new capabilities and security threats that LRA may think of at any given moment.
"We commend the work done by our gallant soldiers and commanders to keep Uganda and the region safe of any insecurity. Our troops will be utilized to close any deployment gaps that we may have internally and externally," the statement concluded.
