The Uganda People's Defense Force ( UPDF) has launched the army week to mark 25 years of existence.

The UPDF spokesman Felix Kulaigye told Xinhua by telephone on Friday that the UPDF which started as a guerilla in 1981 has been able to exist for 25 years unlike other armies the country has had.

He said the army has been able to achieve this by creating a harmonious relation with the local population.

On February 6, 1981, President Yoweri Museveni, then a rebel leader of the National Resistance Army, attacked Kabamba military complex in Mubende district, triggering off a guerilla war that saw him capture power on January 26, 1986.

Kulaigye said the UPDF has also been able to sustain a government for 20 years and create stability in most parts of the country.

He noted that during the 25 years of existence, HIV/AIDS, corruption and the insurgencies in the north have been some of the major challenges the army has faced.

He said during the army week, the army will carry out children and expectant mothers' immunization, clean-up exercises of health facilities and tree planting.

During the launch of the week on Wednesday, the UPDF Chief of Defense Forces Aronda Nyakairima immunized several children against Tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio and worms.

Meanwhile, Kulaigye said the army has opened up a security road in Katakwi district linking Teso and Karamoja regions in eastern Uganda.

He said the road is part of the comprehensive security plan to open up security roads in the region as a way of dealing with difficulties in patrol movements that have been taken advantage of by cattle rustlers.

Eastern Uganda is characterized by armed warriors who rustle cattle from neighboring communities.

Currently the UPDF is carrying out a disarmament exercise, which has so far yielded over 10,000 guns since it was launched in 2001.

Source: Xinhua