Fighters from the al-Shabab group have attacked a base for African Union peacekeepers in southwestern Somalia, blasting their way into the compound and exchanging fire with peacekeepers, a Somali military official said.
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Kenya’s army said Friday morning fighting was ongoing, and insisted that it was the Somali army base next door to its camp that was seized.
Since 2011, when Kenya invaded war-thorn Somalia to fight Shabab, Nairobi has reportedly contributed over 4,000 troops to the AU peacekeeping mission.
“Shabab attacked the SNA camp, which is in close proximity to the KDF camp at El-Adde”, Obonyo said.
Al Shabaab, a group aligned to al Qaida, launched the attack on the African Union base run by Kenyan peacekeepers in Ceel Cado, about 550 km west of Mogadishu, near the Kenyan border.
Al-Shabab militants have frequently staged attacks against government officials and civilians over the past years.
We support the efforts of Somalia’s federal government to restore the (country’s) statehood and reach national reconciliation.
Francisco Madeira, the special representative of the African Union Commission for Somalia, condemned the attack, saying late Friday the casualties and injuries were still being verified.
He said that Al-Shabaab claims of large-scale casualties among AMISOM troops were “total propaganda”.
He said the attack on Kenyan soldiers will not bring to an end the mission for peace and stability in Somalia.
A shopkeeper in the town said soldiers from the African Union force, known as AMISOM, appeared to have left the town.
Local elder Hussein Adam said he heard a huge explosion followed by intense gunfire for about 45 minutes.
The attack is the biggest assault on an African Union, Amisom base since a raid on an installation at Janaale in southern Somalia on September 1.
The militants also stage frequent suicide attacks in the capital.
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The Somali militant group, Al-Shabaab, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US, claimed responsibility for the attack.
