Al-Shabaab militants, who are linked to the Al-Qaeda terrorist group, launched an attack on an African Union Peacekeepers' Camp and killed at least three civilians as Somalis were celebrating Eid Al-Fitr for the second day.
A Somali military commander in the Middle Shabelle region, Col. Muse Hassan, told reporters that heavily armed Al-Shabaab militants attacked the Burundian base in El-Baraf. The area was located roughly 160 kilometers north of the capital Mogadishu and was attacked from different directions on Tuesday.
Al-Shabaab Gunmen
The military official said that a suicide car bomber drove into the main gates of the base allowing other fighters to enter the camp easily. The gunmen then engaged in a heavy gunfight against African Union soldiers for roughly an hour.
The Al-Shabaab terrorist group posted a statement on its affiliated websites that claimed its fighters were able to kill 59 soldiers when they overran the base. However, authorities have not confirmed the accounts nor the number of potential casualties in the area. The recent attack is the second assault on the camp this year, as per CNN.
A local elder in the region, who lives in a village near the scene of the gunfight, said that he also saw two helicopters flying by that were shooting down on the ground. He said that he and other people were awoken by huge blasts early in the morning.
The militant group has been fighting for years in an attempt to topple the central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islam's sharia law. In its statement, Al-Shabaab said that the Mujahideen launched a pre-dawn raid on an ATMIS (African Union Mission) military base in the Middle Shabelle region.
According to Alarabiya, they added that after a fierce firefight, the Mujahideen were able to take control of the entire military base. A shopkeeper in the area, Farah Hussein, said that after the militant group's initial attack, he heard gunshots and weapons being fired.
Attack on Peacekeepers
Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairperson of the AU Commission, said that he paid tribute to the Burundian peacekeepers who lost their lives in the firefight. Somali authorities are now preparing to hold long-delayed presidential elections with political rivalries having split the security services.
The region's presidency condemned the attack on the African Union Transition Mission base and called for increased support to protect the people. A video recording shared on social media platforms appeared to show people looting a military base and equipment consistent with African Union forces.
A fighter could be seen carrying the black flag of Al-Shabaab and standing on top of a burnt-out armored personnel carrier within a military camp. A photograph also seems to show part of the blood-soaked body of a soldier with "Burundi" written on his uniform.
Hussein said that the ATMIS forces were also in the jungles pursuing the Al-Shabaab fighters and said that he knew of at least three dead civilians and five injured. Local officials from the Shabelle region and the African Union mission refused to comment on the incident as the African Union and its member states do not typically release information on casualties from an attack, Reuters reported.
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