Friday, January 14, 2011
advertisements
A Burundian peacekeeper serving in the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was killed this week in the Somali capital Mogadishu by al-Shabaab insurgents, Burundian army spokesman Col. Gaspard Baratuza told Xinhua on Wednesday afternoon.Col. Gaspard Baratuza said the Burundian peacekeeper "was ambushed" on Monday by an al-Shabaab insurgent. "The al-Shabaab insurgent fired only bullet towards the peacekeeper and the latter died immediately."
The spokesman said the body of the Burundian peacekeeper has already moved from Mogadishu to the Ugandan capital Kampala, before it is repatriated Friday to the Burundian capital Bujumbura for burial.
"We're not discouraged by this loss of a peacekeeper. We are in Somalia to serve the Somalia nation and we will also serve other nations if necessary," the Burundian army spokesman said.
"We're aware there are risks and some preventive measures have been taken. However, it's sometimes difficult to avoid al-Shabaab' s ambushes because they (insurgents) use sniper guns. We're sorry for what happened on Monday," Col. Baratuza said.
For several times, al-Shabaab insurgents have attacked AMISOM troops in Mogadishu in attempts to force them to go back to their home countries -- Burundi and Uganda.
Al-Shabaab has also threatened attacks against the capital cities of the two contributors of troops in the AMISOM. The latest threats were made at the end of last year.
In July 2010, al-Shabaab insurgents carried out bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital Kampala, killing 76 people.
Source: Xinhua