Two African Union (AU) soldiers were killed, and another was injured in a mortar attack by the al-Shabab militant group on Sunday at their base within Mogadishu’s international airport. The attack targeted the Halane Base Camp, a facility that hosts AU forces and foreign diplomatic missions.
The head of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), Mohamed El-Amine Souef, condemned the assault, which involved the firing of at least four mortar rounds, believed to include a 107mm rocket. “The heinous attack will not deter us and the Somali security forces from pursuing lasting peace in Somalia,” Souef stated on X (formerly Twitter). He reiterated the AU’s steadfast commitment to combating terrorism and fostering stability in the region.
While the statement did not disclose the nationalities of the casualties, an AU official confirmed to VOA’s Horn of Africa that the victims were Ugandan soldiers. Souef expressed condolences to the victims’ families and wished the injured a swift recovery. He added that the AU leadership visited the site of the attack following the incident.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, posting on one of its platforms that it had killed “white and black officers” in the strike. The group, despite being pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011, continues to launch sporadic mortar attacks targeting key locations, including Mogadishu’s airport. These assaults have also affected residential areas, causing civilian casualties.
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