Al Shabab militia captures UN helicopter in Somalia

The radical Islamic militia Al Shabab has captured a UN helicopter in Somalia in which two Somali citizens and seven foreigners were traveling. The spokesman for Secretary General António Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, has confirmed the incident and has assured that the international institution is developing “response efforts”, but has also pointed out that the United Nations will not give more details about the event to protect the safety of those kidnapped. .

In Somalia, government sources have indicated that six of the passengers have been captured, two have managed to escape and one has died. So far the nationality of the foreigners has not been provided.

The incident occurred when the UN Support Office helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in the Galgaduud region of central Somalia for unclarified reasons, two senior government officials in Mogadishu said. the capital of this African country, to the Reuters agency.

The UN Support Office provides logistical support to the African Union peacekeeping force in this country, which has nearly 19,000 troops. Among its tasks is the supply of food and fuel, as well as air and ground transportation. Likewise, it takes charge of evacuations if they are necessary.

Al Shabab is a group linked to the Al Qaeda network since 2012, but was founded in 2006 as the radical wing of the Union of Islamic Courts of Somalia, an organization that is now defunct. It has in its ranks between 7,000 and 12,000 combatants distributed between the Horn of Africa, northern Mozambique and Yemen, and is one of the bloodiest terrorist organizations in Africa. Their goal is to expel foreign troops from the country and overthrow the UN-backed federal government led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to establish sharia or Islamic law. During the last decade, the Government has achieved some successes in recovering territory occupied by the militia, but it still maintains control of large areas in the center and south of the country.

Among its deadliest attacks are the 2015 attack on Garissa University in northern Kenya, where 147 students were killed, the truck bomb explosion in the center of Mogadishu that caused 512 victims, and another car bomb attack. in 2022, also in the capital, which left 100 dead and 300 injured.

According to the Somali news portal Garowe Onlinethe capture of the helicopter occurred in the surroundings of the city of Harardhere, where although government troops have taken control, Al Shabab still dominates several districts.

Indeed, Guterres spoke this Wednesday with President Mohamud. They talked about the memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and the self-proclaimed republic of Somaliland, with which Addis Ababa aspires to gain access to the sea that it lost with the independence of Eritrea. In a statement, the UN emphasizes that the Secretary General recalled that the Security Council has repeatedly declared its respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Somalia, which considers Somaliland part of its territory. Guterres also expressed his hope that all parties involved in that conflict will be able to establish a peaceful and constructive dialogue and avoid any steps that could aggravate the situation.

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