By Timothy Nsubuga

4^th April 2011:-

Dead in Benghazi: Could he be a UPDF mercenary?

A well known and controversial NRM Member of Parliament has accused President Museveni’s government of selling UPDF soldiers to fight as mercenaries alongside troops loyal to the embattled Libyan Leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi.

The youthful Buganda MP, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said he knows a family in his constituency that recently buried their 26 year old son who was killed by Libyan pro-democracy rebels who are fighting to oust Libyan Leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi.

“…It is really sad that my own government is doing such things without seeking approval from us as the people’s representatives.  I was shocked when the dead soldiers father told me that although he was told officially by the UPDF that his son had died after bomb hit their base in Somalia, some of the soldiers who brought the body privately told him that his son was actually killed in Libya”, the MP said.

The MP also revealed that the dead soldier’s father had threatened to ‘ambush’ President Museveni at a public function to raise the matter directly with him.  “…The old man was so bitter that he threatened to embarrass the President in public.  But I persuaded him not to.  I also warned him that the President’s guards might harm him if he tries to bulldoze his way to where the President is”, the youthful MP said.

Further allegations of mercenary involvement

Our efforts to get a comment from government on the MPs allegation were futile by press time.  An independent investigation by Uganda Correspondent has however unearthed further allegations of the involvement of foreign mercenaries in the Libyan conflict.

Press TV, an Iranian television station, for example reported on its website that, “…several Libyan army troops who have defected to the country’s revolutionary forces say Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi has hired foreign mercenaries from different countries to kill the people”.

The allegations have come on the heels of further defections from Gaddafi’s government to join the revolutionaries.  Last week, the commander of security forces in Libya’s eastern city of al-Kufrah reportedly joined the revolutionary forces.

Earlier, Libya’s Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa fled to Britain and announced his resignation.  Former Libyan Foreign Minister Ali Abdussalam Treki, who was due to be Libya’s new UN ambassador, has also defected.  About a dozen other senior officials have left beleaguered Gaddafi’s inner circle and are reportedly in Britain.

Libyan revolutionary forces say regime troops use Israeli-made weapons to carry out crimes against humanity in the city of Misratah.  An opposition spokesman in Misratah said Gaddafi loyalists abandoned Israeli-made arms after a botched attempt to enter the Libyan city.

The opposition spokesman also said Gaddafi’s tanks indiscriminately shelled homes.  Reports say shelling in Misratah has left at least one person dead and several others wounded. END.  Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.