MOGADISHU, Somalia
At least 30 Burundian soldiers were killed and 20 others injured in Tuesday's attack by al-Shabab militants on an African Union base in southern Somalia, according to a Burundian official.
The official, who requested
anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to media, told VOA Somali that 10
soldiers died on the spot, and the rest of the soldiers succumbed to their
wounds. He confirmed that other soldiers are still missing.
Al-Shabab said it killed 173
soldiers in the attack on the AU base in the village of El-Baraf, about 150
kilometers north of Mogadishu. The casualty figure has not been independently
verified. A separate source told VOA Somali that 161 soldiers were at the camp
at the time of attack. The Burundian official confirmed that number.
The Burundian official told
VOA Somali that the soldiers had intelligence al-Shabab was gathering in a
nearby village about 48 hours prior to the attack. He said the soldiers
prepared to defend themselves and dug trenches.
He said what caught the
soldiers by surprise was the enormity of al-Shabab explosives detonated at the
camp. He said the militants used three truck bombs, one of which fell into a
ditch. He estimated the militants detonated about 20 kilograms of explosives,
and that 450 militants overran the camp.Courtesy
The official said the suicide
truck bombs caused most of the casualties.
Earlier, the government of
Burundi reported 10 of their soldiers were killed, with five others missing and
25 injured. Burundi also said 20 al-Shabab militants were killed in the attack.
On Twitter, Burundi President
Evariste Ndayishimiye said there are no words strong enough to condemn the
terrorist attack against the Burundian contingent. He wrote, "I join with
all of Africa which has just lost sons and daughters … to console the hard-hit
families."
The African Union, the Somali
government and the embassy of the United States in Mogadishu have all strongly
condemned the al-Shabab attack.
AU chief Moussa Faki Mahamat
paid tribute to the Burundian soldiers killed, and said the "heinous"
attack will not lessen support of AU forces to Somalia.
The Somali ministry of foreign affairs called on the international community to increase and provide higher-end capability to Somali security forces and AU forces so they can effectively combat terrorism in Somalia.
The U.S. embassy in Mogadishu
said the U.S. extends condolences to the families of the troops killed and
wished a quick recovery to those injured.
“We condemn al-Shabaab's attack on an @ATMIS_Somalia base
held by #Burundian soldiers.
We extend our condolences to the families of the troops killed and wish a quick
recovery to those injured. We stand with ATMIS and #Somalia's
security forces as we partner to achieve peace.” — U.S.
Embassy Mogadishu, Somalia (@US2SOMALIA) May
4, 2022
The Mayor of El-Baraf,
Abdullahi Haji Muhumed, told VOA that Tuesday's fighting at the camp was the heaviest
the area has seen.
"Fighting like this never
happened in this area," he said, explaining that the violence also killed
two civilians and injured 10 others. "It was heavy fighting."
The incident marked the first
major al-Shabab attack on AU forces since the mission changed its name and
operational structures last month.
The U.N. Security Council, which authorized the new mission called the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, gave it a mandate to reduce the threat posed by al-Shabab, support the capacity building of Somali security forces, and conduct a phased handover of security responsibilities to the Somali government. The mission's mandate runs through the end of 2024. - VoA
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