Regional military drills kick off in Uganda

About 300 military personnel, police and civilians from Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Netherlands, United States and Uganda are participating in a two-week Military Command Post Exercise (CPX) “Maliza Ugaidi 15” in Jinja, Uganda. Rwanda is represented by a contingent of 25 personnel led by Col. Denis Rutaha. The CPX was officially launched on Tuesday by the Uganda Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, and it is aimed at improving participating forces’ capacity to conduct joint counter violent extremism operations. “This exercise will enhance our capacity to ensure peace and stability in our respective countries,” said Gen. Wamala. He challenged the participants to bear in mind the existing global challenges of terrorism and extremism. The Exercise Director, Brigadier Mathew Gureme, said the purpose of the drills is “improving participating forces’ capacity to plan and integrate military operations with civilian authorities’ activities in countering violent extremist organisations and providing humanitarian assistance”. He said the exercise will enable the participants to work closely to deter future threats as well as build military-to-military cooperation among the participants. Brig. Gen. Kenneth H. Moore from the United States who is also the Deputy Exercise Director emphasised the role of the joint exercise in building trust, confidence and relationships among the participating forces. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Regional military drills kick off in Uganda