...KABOOM!...
s in southern Somalia, with the main focus being outside the vicinity of Bulo Marer, a town where al-Shabaab
...... the personification of Somali state failure...
gunnies initiated dawn attacks mainly targeting the Uganda People's Defense Forces [UPDF] serving in the peacekeeping mission.
In a statement, the US Army said the airstrike was in support of the "federal and 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...
Transition Mission troops" who were in an operation against al-Shabaab. The ground troops from ATMIS and the Somali army have been pursuing gunnies who waged an assault against the Ugandan contingent.
"The strike destroyed weapons and equipment unlawfully taken by al-Shabaab fighters," the statement revealed, adding that "the command’s initial assessment is that no civilians were maimed or killed". This was the second airstrike against the al-Shabaab in seven days by the US army.
Last week, the command targeted al-Shabaab headquarters in Jilib town, seriously injuring Osman Mohammed Abdi alias Moallim Osman, the group's commander for external operations. Moalim, who was declared "unconscious", is usually the person who organizes raids against foreign troops and outside the country.
U.S. Africa Command takes great measures to prevent civilian casualties. Protecting civilians remains a vital part of the command’s operations to promote a more secure and stable Africa, the command added in the statement which was published on Saturday.
Uganda has dispatched Lt. General Mayanga Muhanga, the Land Forces Commander to Somalia to assess the level of damage by al-Shabaab. Initial reports show the gunnies targeted Uganda Battle Group 38 which reported to Somalia last month for ATMIS duties in Bulo Marer.
While ATMIS is yet to disclose the number of casualties, several military sources place it between 50 and 137 as claimed by al-Shabaab hard boys. Several other soldiers were taken into captivity, sources further said. al-Shabaab published photos of purported UPDF soldiers being held captive.