Al-Shabab militants kill 1, capture 6 on UN helicopter
January 10, 2024
Members of the militant Islamic group al-Shabab killed one person and kidnapped six others after technical problems forced a UN helicopter to make an emergency landing in territory controlled by the group, according to Somali officials.
An internal UN memo seen by the French news agency AFP said a UN aircraft had "crash landed" roughly 70 kilometers (43 miles) southeast of Dhusamareb, the capital of the central Somali state of Galmudug.
Mohamed Abdi Aden Gaboobe, minister of internal security for Galmudug, said the helicopter experienced engine failure and landed near the village of Xindheere.
Nine people were reportedly onboard the aircraft at the time of the incident; eight of them were foreign nationals. Two passengers managed to escape, and one was shot dead while attempting to flee.
The UN memo said reports of the abduction of passengers, "could not be independently verified."
The memo went on to say that those onboard were third-party contractors and not UN employees, adding, "all UN flights have been temporarily suspended in the vicinity until further notice."
Speaking to reporters in New York, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, "response efforts are underway," but added: "For the sake of the safety of all those onboard, we're not going to say anything more at this point. We are fully engaged in trying to resolve" the situation.
Al-Shabab has yet to claim responsibility. The nationalities of those individuals captured were not immediately clear.
Who is al-Shabab?
Al-Shabab, which has ties to the terror group al-Qaeda, has been battling the Somali government since 2006 in an effort to establish a state based strictly on Islamic Shariah.
The government has been able to push the militants back since the mid-2010s, yet al-Shabab — which targets civilians and sees foreigners as aiding the government in Mogadishu — still controls territories in southern and central Somalia.
The country is considered one of the most dangerous in the world for aid organizations to operate.
The Somali government has intensified efforts to eradicate the group in recent months, though it has been forced to do so without the aid of foreign troops as these exit the country.
js/sms (AP, epd, Reuters)