Colonel Muse Hassan, a Somali military commander in the Middle Shabel region, told CNN that heavily armed al-Shabaab militants had attacked a Burundian base in El-Baraf, about 160km north of the capital Mogadishu, from various directions early Tuesday. .
Hassan said a suicide bomber entered the base’s main gates, allowing the fighters to enter the camp, where they engaged in a heavy firefight with AU soldiers for about an hour. The base is located along the main road connecting Mogadishu with the northern parts of the country.
In a statement posted on related websites, Al-Shabaab said its fighters killed 59 soldiers while taking control of the base, but authorities did not confirm these allegations or the number of possible casualties. This is the second time the camp has been attacked by a terrorist group this year.
“We woke up this morning to a huge explosion and heavy fire at the Burundian army base in El Baraf, which was attacked from several directions, we do not know how many soldiers were killed, but we saw smoke and flames,” Havo said. Ali, a local who spoke to CNN on the phone.
CNN contacted the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), officially known as the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), to comment on the attack.
The attack comes as Somalia is sworn in in a new parliament on April 14th and is expected to hold presidential elections later this year, after more than a year of delay due to the political crisis. No specific election date has been set.
The political situation in the country was further complicated by the power struggle between Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble and President Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed, which contributed to the postponement of the election.
Al-Shabab, a Somali group identified by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization in March 2008, has been fighting for years to overthrow the central government and establish a rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. It continues to carry out frequent attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere, despite government and international efforts to stop it.
Add Comment