Sunday, February 22, 2009

Somali insurgents attack African peacekeepers base in Mogadishu

Huge explosions rocked a main base for a contingent of the African Union peacekeeping force in the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials and witnesses said Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. Ahmed Mohamed, resident who lives close to the targeted compound which houses the forces, said that he heard loud blasts coming from the building as smoke pillow from it.

"The sound of the explosions was very big and black smoke started coming from the building after the explosions," Mohamed told Xinhua.

Initial reports suggested that there was a suicide car bomb attack on the contingent but officials of the forces would not confirm or deny the reports.

Spokesman for the African Union peacekeeping forces, Bridgeye Bahuko, confirmed the attacks saying there were mortars fired at the Burundian contingent of the forces which also make up peacekeepers from Uganda.

The spokesman declined to say if there were any casualties that resulted from the mortar shells insisting there they are ' collecting information".

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks but the hardline Islamist Al-Shabaab and Hezbul Islam vowed to continue fighting the peacekeepers in Mogadishu.

Nearly 3500 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are currently deployed in Mogadishu as part of the initially authorized 8000-strong African Union Mission in Somalia.

Source: AMISOM, Feb 22, 2009

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