Heavily armed Shebab attacked a military base of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia on Tuesday, May 3 before dawn, report a local military commander and several witnesses.

The base houses Burundian soldiers from the African Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) near the village of Ceel Baraf, 160 km northeast of Mogadishu.

"There was heavy fighting and casualties on both sides but we don't have any further details so far," local military commander Mohamed Ali told AFP by phone.

"They launched the attack with a car explosion before a heavy firefight."

A Burundian military official, for his part, told AFP that around 30 soldiers were killed and 22 others injured, and a dozen others are missing.

No confirmation of this assessment was immediately available from Somali or AU officials. 

"There were loud explosions and exchanges of automatic weapons. The Burundian soldiers left the base to enter the village of Ceel Baraf before helicopters came to provide air support," said local resident Weliyow Maalim. 

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack

The Somali government said it “condemns in the strongest terms the heinous attack targeting the Atmis” and called on the international community to do more to support the Somali forces and the Atmis “to effectively combat terrorism. ".

AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said on Twitter that he had spoken to Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye to pay his respects for the "sacrifice" of peacekeepers who have lost their lives.

AU Chairperson @AUC_MoussaFaki condemns attack on ATMIS base in Somalia: https://t.co/cDehkR4i0M pic.twitter.com/YuL4HZH3wo

— African Union (@_AfricanUnion) May 3, 2022

Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab, which has been waging an insurgency against the Somali state for more than a decade, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

They claimed to have taken over the base and killed 173 AU soldiers.

They also released a video showing bodies appearing to be those of soldiers, according to the American NGO SITE Intelligence.

The report given and the video could not be independently verified.

An electoral process that worries

The Atmis force, whose workforce represents nearly 20,000 soldiers, police and civilians from African countries, formally replaced the African peacekeeping force in Somalia (Amisom) with a mandate extended at the end of March by the United Nations Security Council until the end of 2024 to stabilize the country against the Islamist insurgency Shebab.

Amisom ousted Al-Shabaab from the main cities of the country, including the capital Mogadishu in 2011, allowing the installation of a government and federal institutions as well as the holding of two cycles of elections (2012, 2017) and the organization of a third which should be completed in the coming weeks.

But, in recent months, Al-Shabaab have intensified their attacks in the country, claiming responsibility in particular for two spectacular attacks on March 24.

Tuesday's attack comes less than a week after parliament appointed the presidents of the two chambers, a key step paving the way for the election of Somalia's president.

International partners have expressed concern about delays in the electoral process, which they say distract the government from the fight against Al-Shabaab or the risk of famine in the country.

With AFP

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