AMISOM: We admit Bula Marer killing but it was not premeditated

African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM has admitted its soldiers killed four civilians in Bula Marer, Lower Shabelle region Saturday but said the killings were not intentional.

In a statement, AMISOM said its troops tried to stop a speeding vehicle but the driver failed to adhere to repeated warnings leading them to suspect the car could have been carrying explosive devices.

“Assuming the car to be a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED), the troops opened fire resulting in the death of four occupants of the vehicle,” said AMISOM.

Sources confirmed to Goobjoog News Saturday four people among them an eighty year old woman and her granddaughter were killed while heading to Mogadishu for treatment.

AMISOM said it regretted the deaths and that the matter had been referred to the appropriate instances of the African Union Commission. A board of inquiry, AMISOM said will work closely with the Federal Government and the administration of South West State where the incident occurred.

It further noted its soldiers were bound by International Humanitarian Law and African Union Peace Support Operations Code of Conduct.

AMISOM troops have been accused in the past of civilian killings including one in which a family of nine and friends were killed while attending a wedding ceremony in Marka, Lower Shabelle August last year. Goobjoog News exclusively reported last year of a 14 year boy killed near an AMISOM base in Mogadishu in which case AMISOM admitted the killing and pledged to take necessary action.