Somalia: Ugandan Amisom contingent claims to have killed 189 shebabs
Amisom soldiers stationed north of Mogadishu.
(Illustrative photo) REUTERS / Stuart Price
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It is one of the operations that killed the most shebabs in less than twenty-four hours.
The Ugandan contingent of Amisom, the African force in Somalia, claimed to have eliminated 189 Islamist terrorists between Friday evening and Saturday morning.
A series of attacks have been carried out against several villages southwest of Mogadishu.
The Ugandans notably have attack helicopters which were often lacking throughout Amisom's tenure.
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In an operation which they described as "
surprise and rapid
", the Ugandans were full of luck ... The contingent launched troops on the ground supported by several attack helicopters.
The devices strafed from the sky at least three villages, a hundred kilometers southwest of Mogadishu and known to be Shebab landmarks.
A meeting of Islamist officials was also disrupted and several participants injured.
Two Shebab commanders were arrested and handed over to the Somali army.
The Ugandan People's Defense Force (UPDF) claims to have destroyed vehicles, weapons and equipment.
The governor of the Bas-Shabelle region confirmed the operation and its very heavy toll for terrorists, a success due, in large part, to the use of attack helicopters, the lack of which has always been criticized within Amisom.
However, in February 2012, the delivery of twelve aircraft had been authorized by the UN but a few months later, three Ugandan helicopters on their way to Somalia crashed, putting a stop to the project.
Since then, this type of gear has only been used by Kenya and Ethiopia, outside the framework of Amisom.
The African force finally received three MD-500 helicopters in December 2016. Then, at the end of 2020, Uganda deployed an air unit, the result of a partnership with the UN and Amisom, the first of which was made by Major weapons were just registered this weekend.
Read also: Somalia: series of attacks launched by the Shebabs against the Amisom bases
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