EA UN helicopter landed on Wednesday in a village in central Somalia controlled by the radical Islamic terrorist militia Al-Shabaab. It initially remained unclear whether it was an emergency landing or whether the helicopter had been shot at. “Initial reports indicate that Al-Shabaab fighters took some hostages and confiscated the material on board the helicopter,” a police spokesman from the Hiran region told the German Press Agency.
Several media outlets, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, unanimously reported that there were nine passengers on board, including four Europeans. Six of the eight passengers were kidnapped and another was killed. Two passengers may have escaped. According to the Washington Post, members of the terrorist militia set fire to the helicopter.
The Washington Post also cited an internal United Nations memo that said the helicopter “was struck by an object on the main rotor blade and the flight landed safely, taking all precautions.” It did not say what the incident was the object acted.
The helicopter had a defect shortly after take-off from the town of Beledweyne in central Somalia, Major Hassan Ali told the Reuters news agency, before it landed near the village of Hindhere on the border with the Galguduud region. “Two Somali men and several foreigners were on board. It had also loaded medical supplies and was supposed to transport injured soldiers from the Galguduud region,” he said.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) later confirmed that there had been an incident involving a United Nations-contracted helicopter carrying out an aerial medical examination. She said she was collecting information about the incident and appropriate action would be taken.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) announced on social media that it could confirm “that it is not a WFP or UN Humanitarian Air Service aircraft.” As a precautionary measure, WFP flights in the region have been temporarily suspended.
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