In a major terror attack, 54 Ugandan peacekeepers were reportedly killed in a recent assault on a military post in Somalia by the terrorist organisation Al-Shabaab. On May 26, the group attacked the base owned by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) at Buulo Mareer, which is located 130 km southwest of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
“Our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganised themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base. We discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including a Commander. These terrorists attempted another ill-fated attack on Baraawe Town, but our forces dealt a significant blow, forcing them to flee,” Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni posted and also informed about the arrest of the commanders who issued the orders for the soldiers to retreat and stated that they will be court martialed.
Before responding to very pertinent questions raised by members of the NRM parliamentary caucus, I updated them on the incident in Somalia.
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) June 3, 2023
Our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganized themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base.
We discovered the… pic.twitter.com/J3EOVKYZkg
Last week, the Ugandan leader proclaimed that there had been Ugandan casualties, but he did not mention the attack on the troops, who are members of ATMIS. However, he had warned Al-Shabaab of dire consequences.
The Islamist group had alleged that on Friday, it carried out suicide bomb strikes in which 137 soldiers perished.
Since 2006, Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab has fought to uproot the incumbent government which it claims is backed by the West and aims to replace it with a new one that implements a strict interpretation of Islamic law in the country.
Following President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s election victory in August of last year, the government launched a sustained offensive against them that has made great progress in undercutting the outfit’s hold over major portions of Somalia.
Although, the latter is still able to carry out significant strikes on military, commercial, and governmental targets. It also occasionally conducts operations in neighbouring Kenya in retaliation for Nairobi deploying soldiers to support the rebel resistance in Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab attacked a second military camp in Masagawa on May 30 and killed 17 individuals, only days after attacking the ATMIS military base. A military official in Masagawa named Captain Abdullahi Mohamed acknowledged the attack and disclosed that 12 Al-Shabaab terrorists were killed, but he was unsure how many troops were dead.
Meanwhile, on June 1, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) carried out a retaliatory attack that resulted in the deaths of three Al-Shabaab militants. The incident happened at Wayanta, located around 60 kilometres southwest of Kismayo, a port city in southern Somalia.