Thursday June 9, 2016
Somalia
Heavy fighting has been reported at a military base run by Ethiopian troops serving as part of the African Union force in a Somali village about 260 kilometers north of Mogadishu, according to witnesses.
A Somali military colonel who did not want to be named said he contacted officials in the village who told him Al-Shabab militants reached the edges of the fence at the base but were met with heavy response by the Ethiopian troops. Ethiopian helicopters dispatched from a nearby base are carrying out airstrikes, he said. Fighting which started at around 5 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET) is reportedly continuing.
Suicide car bombs coupled with forceful storming of bases has been the hallmark of Al-Shabab raids against heavily fortified AU military bases in Somalia since last year.
Since June of last year, Al-Shabab has attacked and overtaken three main AMISOM military bases killing 54 Burundian soldiers in Leego town, 19 Ugandans in Jannaale and more than 100 Kenyans in El-Adde.