Al-shabaab claims deadly attack on AU base
Al-shabaab jihadists armed with gunsand explosives stormed an African Union base in Somalia on Tuesday, triggering a fierce firefight that killed an unknown number of Burundian peacekeepers.
The Somali government and the African Union condemned the "terrorist" attack although they did not disclose how many people had died.
A high-ranking Burundian military officer said about 30 soldiers were killed and another 22 wounded, while a dozen were missing.
AU forces sent in helicopter gunships after the pre-dawn attack on a camp housing Burundian troops near Ceel Baraf, a village some 160km northeast of the capital Mogadishu, military officials and witnesses said.
"There was heavy fighting and casualties inflicted on both sides," local military commander Mohamed Ali said by phone. "They launched the attack with a car bomb blast before a heavy exchange of gunfire broke out."
It was the first such attack on a peacekeeping base since the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) replaced the previous AMISOM peacekeeping force on April 1.
Al-shabaab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against Somalia's fragile central government for more than a decade, claimed responsibility, saying it had taken control of the camp and claimed to have killed 173 soldiers.
It also released a video showing bodies of what appeared to be slain soldiers lying on the ground, according to the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors extremist groups.
The death toll claims and the video could not be independently verified.
'Heinous' attack
Somalia's government said it "condemns in the strongest possible terms the heinous attack targeting ATMIS" and appealed to the international community to do more to support Somali forces and ATMIS "in effectively combatting terrorism".
AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat said on Twitter he spoke to Burundi's President Évariste Ndayishimiye to pay his respects for the "sacrifice" of the peacekeepers who lost their lives.
The attack highlights the ongoing security woes in the troubled Horn of Africa country, which is also embroiled in a deep political crisis over delayed elections and faces the threat of famine.
The Burundian source said about 400 Islamist fighters stormed the base after blowing up two car bombs. Burundian soldiers then retreated to a nearby hillside where they continued to fight, supported by drones and helicopters.
"Al-shabaab gunmen stormed the camp early morning, there were heavy blasts and exchanges of machinegun fire. The Burundians vacated the camp and entered Ceel Baraf village before helicopters arrived providing aerial support," said one witness, local resident Weliyow Maalim.
"The helicopters fired missiles and heavy machineguns, we saw smoke rising over the camp but we don't know about the situation exactly," said another witness, Ahmed Adan.
In September 2015, at least 50 AU troops were reported by Western military sources to have died when Al-shabaab fighters overran a military base southwest of Mogadishu.