Al-Shabaab Storm AU Base, casualties reported
2 min readAl-Shabaab Storm AU Base in Somalia, triggering a fierce firefight with unknown casualties being reported.
According to a local military commander and witnesses, heavily armed Al-Shabaab militants invaded an African Union (AU) base in Somalia on Tuesday, sparking a ferocious firefight that caused an unknown number of dead.
AU forces dispatched helicopter gunships after the pre-dawn car bomb and gun attack on a camp housing Burundian peacekeepers near Ceel Baraf.
The area is about 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu.
“There was heavy fighting and casualties inflicted on both sides, but we don’t have more details about this incident so far,” local military commander Mohamed Ali told AFP by phone.
“They launched the attack with a car bomb blast before a heavy exchange of gunfire broke out,” he added.
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Al-Shabaab Storm AU Base
Al-Shabaab issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.
It claimed to have killed dozens of Burundian soldiers.
However, the claim could not be verified.
There was no immediate comment from the AU’s transition mission in Somalia or ATMIS.
“Al-Shabaab gunmen stormed the camp early morning, there were heavy blasts and exchanges of machinegun fire. The Burundians vacated the camp and entered Ceel Baraf village before helicopters arrived providing aerial support,” said one witness, local resident Weliyow Maalim.
“The helicopters fired missiles and heavy machine guns, we saw smoke rising over the camp but we don’t know about the situation exactly,” said another witness, Ahmed Adan.
ATMIS replaced the previous AMISOM peacekeeping force when its mandate expired at the end of March.
The new mission has the task of helping Somali forces take primary responsibility for security in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
ATMIS is projected to gradually reduce staffing levels from nearly 20,000 soldiers, police, and civilians to zero by the end of 2024.
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