KENYA: African Union troops injured in Mogadishu suicide blasts evacuated to Nairobi

Record ID: 361204

  • Title: KENYA: African Union troops injured in Mogadishu suicide blasts evacuated to Nairobi
  • Date: 18th September 2009
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (SEPTEMBER 17, 2009) (REUTERS) WIDE OF WILSON AIRPORT PLANE TAXIING TOWARDS WAITING AMBULANCES AFRICAN UNION OFFICIALS WAITING VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS TOLD TO LEAVE AS PLANE IS TAXIING BEHIND THEM VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES LEAVING AIRPORT / CLOSE VIEW INSIDE THE AMBULANCE WITH INJURED BEING TREATED
  • Embargoed: 3rd October 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA1SQD99TBD8JP6HYD0I6QN9W6Y
  • Story Text: African Union troops injured in Thursday's (September 17) twin suicide blasts in the Somali capital Mogadishu arrived at a Nairobi airport and were taken away in ambulances to hospital.
    Journalists were barred from taking pictures of the soldiers from Uganda and Burundi.
    Somali rebels hit the African Union's (AU) main base in Mogadishu on Thursday with two suicide car bombs, killing at least nine people and showing their ability to strike at the heart of the peacekeeping mission.
    Hospital sources said at least seven more people died in artillery battles that broke out after the blasts. Burundi's army said the deputy commander of the AU mission AMISOM was among the dead. The force commander was slightly wounded.
    Just days after the insurgents had vowed to avenge this week's killing of a top al Qaeda suspect by U.S. commandos, witness Farah Hassan said two U.N.-marked vehicles drove into the base followed by two pick-ups carrying government troops.
    Among the dead were some Somalis who had been receiving medical treatment at the heavily-guarded AU base, witnesses said. Somali government officials were meeting representatives of the African Union peacekeeping mission there at the time.
    In the past few months, al Shabaab rebels have looted U.N. compounds in two Somali towns.
    It looked to be the worst attack on the 5,000-strong force since 11 Burundians were killed in February by two suicide bombers who infiltrated another base. It also followed one of the city's most violent months in 20 years.
    Fighting in Somalia has killed more than 18,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and left another 1.5 million homeless.
    Western security agencies say lawless Somalia has become a safe haven for militants, including foreign jihadists, who are using it to plot attacks across the region and beyond.
    Al Shabaab's spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, told Reuters Thursday's attacks were to avenge the death of Kenyan-born Salah Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed in southern Somalia on Monday (September 14) in a raid by U.S. special forces.
    Nabhan, 28, had been allied with al Shabaab, which Washington accuses of being al Qaeda's proxy in Somalia.
    Thursday's attack may deter some African nations, including Nigeria and Djibouti, that have agreed in principle to send soldiers to reinforce the AU mission. So far, Uganda and Burundi are the only nations to have sent soldiers.
    Earlier al Shabaab had demanded the withdrawal of the AU peacekeepers, "especially the Burundians", and the departure of French warships tackling piracy in Somali waters. They also called for the release of mujahideen prisoners in other countries.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register