----- Original Message ----- 

To: UPC UPC 
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 12:55 PM
Subject: Museveni has 10,000 guards


Museveni has 10,000 guards
By David Kibirige
March 24, 2004

      Gets modern weapons

      ENTEBBE - The presidential brigade is about 10,000 men strong, military experts say.

      This is about 7,000 to 6,000 soldiers more than a normal brigade, they add.

      Army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza declined to establish the exact military strength of the Presidential Guard Brigade.

      He however, defended its size.

      "The number has to be big because of the formation. The Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB) is independent of other divisions. 

      They have their own artillery, tank and armored units. So that is why the number is bigger than the usual brigades," he said.

      He said PGB soldiers have to be at every presidential lodge in the country.

      The Monitor has learnt that for the last five years the Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB) has been under going restructuring. 

      It was upgraded from a Presidential Protection Unit (PPU) to a PGB.

      The commander of the Reserve Force Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh has overseen the restructuring. 

      Lt. Col. Leo Kyanda is the PGB commandant.

      The headquarters of the PGB will be at Entebbe. Some of its soldiers will be stationed in every battalion.

      Highly placed sources told The Monitor that the PGB has also acquired sophisticated weapons. 

      The brigade has anti-aircraft guns, battle cars like mamba and buffalo, tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs).

      The commanders of the PGB mechanized unit are different from those of the regular army.

      On the sophisticated weapons, Bantariza said when at a war, the PGB fights independently of the regular army.

      He gave an example of Maj. Muhoozi Kainerugaba who at one time commanded PGB troops against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army in Soroti.

      President Museveni is currently in Lira over seeing operations against LRA rebels led by Joseph Kony. The PGB soldiers are helping in the fight.

     


© 2004 The Monitor Publications

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~