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2021-08-18 Africa Horn
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AU troops killed civilians after Al-Shabaab ambush, insists Somali governor
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[Garowe] A top official in Somalia insists the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Mission Forces [AMISOM] killed civilians last week, arguing that the incident happened after the troops had been ambushed by al-Shabaab
 ...... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
Death Eaters in the southern part of the country.
Abdulkadir Mohammed Nur, the governor of the restless Lower Shabelle region, said he made a confirmation after arranging a meeting with local residents, adding that five farmers were among the civilians who were killed during the fiasco.
Two other civilians whose vehicle broke down on the side of the road were also killed by the peacekeepers, he said. Nur said he personally knew one of the farmers, who died instantly after the assault by the AU forces.
According to reports, the killings took place at Golweyn town, about 100 kilometers south of Mogadishu on August 10. The Uganda People's Defense Forces [UPDF] was manning the place at the time of the incident.
Already, the Somali and AU officials confirmed al-Shabaab Death Eaters had ambushed the peacekeepers during a routine patrol near Golweyn. The soldiers engaged the Death Eaters in a heavy firefight lasting several hours before the incident of civilians deaths was reported.
The African Union insisted that those killed were Death Eaters who took part in the ambush, a claim which has been disputed by a number of eyewitnesses. The troops are accused of frogmarching the innocent civilians, shooting them afterward.
According to Governor Nur, one AU soldier was killed; two others were maimed. It is not yet clear if the killing of the civilians occurred during or after the ambush. AU officials said they are investigating the incident.
In a tweet on the day of the attack, the African Union said that Ugandan troops on routine patrol "engaged and dislodged" an al-Shabaab ambush.
"During the counterattack, 7 bad boyz were potted while others sustained injuries and an assortment of weapons was recovered," AMISOM said in a tweet. In the tweet, AMISOM said one of its soldiers sustained injuries. The tweet has since been deleted.
In a statement, AMISOM seemed to maintain that those killed had links to al-Shabaab krazed killers, but vowed to ensure proper investigations are done. After investigations, the mission said, the report will be published for action.
"On August 10, 2021, soldiers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) while on a routine patrol to secure the Main Supply Route along with the Beldamin-Golweyn Forward Operating Base in the Lower Shabelle region, were ambushed and attacked by al-Shabaab krazed killers," the AU said in a statement on August 11.
The AMISOM team also said troops seized firearms, rounds of ammunition, and mobile phones during the shootout against al-Shabaab.
"AMISOM has since received reports that civilian lives were lost," the statement further read. "To this end, AMISOM has launched a thorough investigation into the reported incident. The investigation team will present its findings and this will be followed by a Board of Inquiry."
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Posted by trailing wife 2021-08-18 00:00||
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File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)
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