An African Union (AU) military helicopter has crashed at Somali International Airport, killing at least three people. The incident happened at Aden Adde airport in Mogadishu, today as the helicopter was trying to land.
According to report, the helicopter took off from Baledogle Airfield in the lower Shabelle region, with eight people on board. The helicopter, owned by the Ugandan Air Force, was operated by the African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
Uganda military spokesperson, Felix Kulayigye, stated that three people survived the incident which took place around 7:30 am. Survivors were reportedly taken to the AUSSOM hospital, but their health condition remains unknown at the time of this report.
One of the witnesses, AbdulRahim Ali, disclosed that he saw a huge explosion and smoke everywhere when the helicopter crashed. Omar Farah, an aviation officer, expressed that he saw the AU helicopter spinning and then it fell very fast.
Minor delays were reported after the incident, but flights later resumed, according to the Director General of the country, Ahmed Hassan. Reports say the AUSSOM mission has more than 11,000 personnel in Somalia from countries including Uganda and Kenya.
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The personnel are deployed to counter al Shabab, an armed group aiming to overthrow Somalia’s government and impose its own rule. Recently, the Somali army killed a prominent leader from the group in the middle Shabelle region.
Military sources disclosed that the leader was targeted during an operation in the Dar Nama area. Uganda has been one of the troop contributing countries to the African union peacekeeping mission since 2007.
