EAC states to hold joint military drills in Uganda

More than 1,500 troops from the six East African Community (EAC) member states plan to carry out joint military drills in Uganda.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ugandan army said civilians would join the troops in the exercise.

The 12th EAC Field Training Exercise is scheduled for May and June in eastern Uganda to test response readiness to complex security challenges, it said.

Col Raphael Kibiwot Kiptoo, the chairperson of the EAC Defence Liaison Office, said such exercises enhance the high-level interconnectedness and interoperability of the troops in the region.

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The six member states are Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

The drills, conducted since 2005, are done on a rotational basis among the partner states every two years.

This article originally came from the East African