Al-shabaab militants on Friday morning launched an attack on an African Union (AU) peacekeepers military base in Bulo Marer in the southwestern Lower Shebelle region of the country.
The militants using multiple explosions are said to have entered a military base. Series of explosions were reported. The base, 110KM south of Mogadishu, is manned by Ugandan forces.
The attack was confirmed by ATMIS in a tweet, explaining that they are still assessing the situation and will in the due course avail the details.
“This morning, ATMIS FOB in Bulo Marer came under attack. ATMIS forces are currently assessing the security situation. More information will be issued,” ATMIS wrote on Twitter on Friday.
Deo Akiiki, the Deputy Uganda Defence spokesperson, said they are still “cross-checking with African Union Transition Mission in Somalia headquaters for more details.”
Al-Shabaab media is claiming militants “overrun” the base but there has been no independent confirmation.
“We carried out a dawn raid against the ATMIS Ugandan crusaders ……. By the grace of Allah, the Mujahideen (Al-Shabaab fighters) successfully overran the base, security its permitters and taking control of its defense post,” Al-Shabaab said in a statement.
The terrorists claim that during the raid, they killed 137 ATMIS fighters, destroyed and seized military vehicles and captured base’s cache of weapons and ammunitions.
They further allege that a number of Ugandan fighters were captured alive as prisoners of war.
The Ugandan forces are part of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). ATMIS is an active African Union transition and drawdown mission from peacekeeping operations in Somalia.
Formerly the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), ATMIS’s mandate will end in 2024, with full transition of security operations to the Somali National Armed Forces (SONA).
ATMIS consists of troops from the East African nations of Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.