Starting with an IED attack, al-Shabaab has ambushed a convoy of Ethiopian troops near the town of Burhakaba, just north of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. This bombing led to an ambush by heavily armed fighters, and hours of battle.
Hours of fighting between the two sides has ended inconclusively, with
al-Shabaab claiming to have killed “several” Ethiopians, while neither
Ethiopia nor the African Union has confirmed the attack at all. Locals
reported that reinforcements arrived during the fight and helped get
Ethiopian casualties out of the area.
To the extent locals were able to confirm casualties at all, they
indicated that they were from the IED attack, not the gunbattle. There
was no confirmation that any of the casualties were fatalities, but two
vehicles were hit in the IED explosions, and badly damaged.
Such attacks are uncommon in 2019, as attacks targeting the African
Union’s forces in Somalia have been infrequent with the escalation of US
involvement in the country. Most al-Shabaab efforts now are targeting
the US, or Somali government forces.
Al-Shabaab Ambushes Ethiopian Troops in Somalia
Hours of fighting reported, al-Shabaab claims Ethiopian troops killed
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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