Somali President pledges investigation into attack that killed 3 Emirati troops and 1 Bahraini officer

893 Shares

FacebookFacebook messengerTwitterWhatsAppLinkedInTelegramEmail

Sunday February 11, 2024

Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud expressed his condolences to the governments of the UAE and Bahrain following an attack at a military base in the capital, Mogadishu.

A Somali soldier who opened fire killed at least five people, including Somali military officials, three Emirati troops, and a Bahraini military officer at the General Gordon Military Base in Mogadishu on Saturday.

advertisements

President Mohamud visited Digfeer Hospital, where the injured officers were receiving treatment. He emphasized that those who lost their lives and those injured had come to Somalia to assist in rebuilding the Somali Armed Forces.

"I strongly condemn this heinous act of violence against these officers who dedicated their time and lives to the liberation and reconstruction of our country's armed forces. We vow to take strict action against those responsible for organizing this reprehensible act," stated the president.

President Mohamud instructed security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement, alleging that it targeted people involved in the Emirati military effort.

The UAE's defence ministry confirmed that two additional individuals were injured in the attack.

In recent years, the UAE has increasingly invested in ports in East Africa, including in Somalia's breakaway Somaliland region. Securing Somalia fits into the Emirates' wider concerns about security in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, particularly as Somali piracy has resumed after years amid attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on shipping in the region over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Home
Email

Hiiraan Online