Somalia conflict: Seized UN helicopter hit by object
A United Nations helicopter crash-landed in a region controlled by armed Islamists in Somalia after its primary rotor blade sustained damage from an object, according to a UN insider.
The aircraft was reportedly seized by Al-Shabab fighters, and there are unconfirmed reports of a passenger being shot dead during the incident.
Six individuals aboard the helicopter are currently held by militants, while two others are said to have escaped, as per the same source. The helicopter, engaged in a medical mission, made an emergency landing near a village.
While the UN mission in Somalia acknowledged an “aviation incident,” it did not explicitly mention Al-Shabab, stating that response efforts are underway.
The source informed the BBC that among the nine individuals on board, one was Somali, and the remaining eight hailed from various African and European countries. The passengers included medics, and all were third-party contractors, distinct from UN personnel.
The helicopter was en route to Wisil town, near the frontlines of a government offensive against Al-Shabab when it crash-landed after being struck by an unidentified object.
Somali military official, Major Hassan Ali told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that the aircraft was “carrying medical supplies and it was supposed to transport injured soldiers from Galgudud region”.
Al-Shabab controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The group is affiliated with al-Qaeda and has waged a brutal insurgency for nearly 20 years.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) posted on social media on Wednesday night that the aircraft was “not a WFP or UN Humanitarian Air Service craft and no WFP personnel were aboard”.
The WFP added that as a precaution, its flights in the area had been temporarily suspended.
The Somali government has in recent months intensified its fight against the al-Qaeda-linked group.
1 comment
Nice