AU Special representative condemns cowardly attack against peacekeepers

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Maman S. Sidikou today strongly condemned two separate attacks against AMISOM peacekeepers in Marka and Lego districts of Lower Shabelle region.

In Marka, Al-Shabaab attacked a convoy carrying AMISOM Ugandan peacekeepers firing AK-47s and hurling grenades in the Rusi neighborhood of the coastal capital. Unfortunately one peacekeeper died and another was wounded in the cowardly attack.

The other attack involved AMISOM’s Burundian peacekeepers as they were traveling along the busy Mogadishu- Baidoa Road. Al-shabab detonated a remote-controlled device as the convoy drove between the towns of Jereredo and Lego. An armored truck was partially damaged and it’s driver was slightly wounded.

“The peacekeepers targeted today were all busy with going their day-to-day peacekeeping mission, which aims to secure Somalia and serve the Somali population. These cowardly elements that attacked peacekeepers are from the same terror network that just yesterday killed innocent Somalis drinking coffee in Mogadishu. It’s clear that their mission is about taking away life and destroying Somalia,” Ambassador Sidikou said.

The Ambassador reiterated AMISOM’s commitment to the Somali people, saying that such senseless attacks would never weaken AMISOM’s resolve in helping Somalia emerge from its current security challenges.

“As a direct response to Al-Shabaab’s desperate attacks, I am very happy to share with the world the steady improvements that Somalia’s patriotic security agencies are portraying in their day-to-day efforts to defend their country. In Mogadishu today, a covert operation by the Somalia National Intelligence Security Agency (NISA) led to the arrest of 15 terrorists. NISA received tip-offs from concerned citizens that the house – within Bakara market – was being used as a hideout by extremists plotting to harm innocent Somalis.”