Four African Union soldiers were killed and five wounded in an attack on their convoy in northern Mogadishu yesterday, as ambushes increase in the war-wracked seaside city.
A child playing near the targeted Ugandan convoy was also killed in the roadside bomb blast, which was a signal of the Ethiopia-backed government's increasing difficulty in restoring security.
"Four of our soldiers were killed and five wounded by the blast which took place at Aruba hotel area while on a duty mission," spokesman for the AU troops captain Paddy Ankunda said.
A senior Somali officer said Ugandan troops stationed at the nearby Mogadishu port helped to recover the dead and wounded from the scene.
"The Somali government is investigating the matter," he said.
A child was also killed in the attack, and another wounded, witnesses said. The children had been playing soccer nearby.
Several people at the scene were immediately arrested, a Somali security officer said, adding that the person who detonated the bomb would not have been able to escape very far.
"This is a homemade device with a wire attached from the bottom which was pulled by somebody in order to trigger the explosion," he said.
Meanwhile, the interim Somali government accused al-Qaeda of involvement in the attack.
"The attack against the Ugandan troops has all the hallmarks of al-Qaeda," said Hussein Mohamud Mohamed, the Somali presidential spokesman.
"The Somali government is treating the matter as a terrorist attack," he said.
"We are sending our deep condolences to the people and government of Uganda and primarily to the families of the deceased," he added.
Some 1,500 Ugandan peacekeepers are in Somalia as part of a planned 8,000 strong force that the African Union is struggling to assemble.
A total of five Ugandan peacekeepers have now been killed since they deployed in Somalia on March 6.
A first Ugandan soldier was killed on April 1 by artillery fire near Mogadishu's presidential palace.
Attacks on civilian targets have increased since Ethiopian-Somali troops ousted an Islamist movement from south and central Somalia at the start of the year.
The capital Mogadishu has seen clashes between Ethiopian-Somali forces and Islamist-led insurgents, killing hundreds of civilians in the past months and forcing tens of thousands to flee.
Heavy fighting abated there after an Ethiopian offensive at the end of last month, but sporadic attacks are on the increase.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS