The United Nations indicated on Wednesday January 10 that one of its helicopters had “crashed on landing” in Somalia and that passengers could have been taken hostage by the Islamists Chabab. The aircraft, with nine passengers and crew members on board, “crashed on landing” about 70 km southeast of Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug state (center), according to an internal UN memo seen by AFP.
The accident occurred in territory believed to be under the control of the Islamist group Chabab and six passengers could have been taken hostage by the jihadists, “although this cannot be independently verified”, it is written in this memo. A passenger was killed in unclear circumstances while two others managed to flee to unknown locations, he continues.
The staff were contractors and not UN staff, the memo said, which mentioned a person of Somali nationality. The nationality of the other people on board was not specified. “All UN flights have been temporarily suspended in the surrounding area until further notice”the memo says.
When contacted, Somali government officials did not respond at this stage.
Vast offensive
Asked about this affair, United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric indicated that a “incident involving a UN contracted helicopter, which occurred on Wednesday in Galmudug, Somalia”. “Efforts are underwayhe told reporters in New York. For the sake of everyone on board, we are not going to say anything further at this point. We are fully committed to trying to resolve this. »
Another separate note, sent to a UN agency in Somalia consulted by AFP, indicates that“a tragic incident involving a helicopter crash” occurred in Galmudug, but no UN personnel were on board.
Al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali federal government, supported by the international community, for more than sixteen years. They have been considered a terrorist group by Washington since 2008.
Driven out of the main cities in 2011-2012, they remain established in vast rural areas of the center and south of the country, from where they regularly carry out attacks against security, political and civilian targets.
The government of President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud launched a vast offensive in August 2023, supported by the American army and the African Union force present in the country (Atmis), which, after allowing the reconquest of territories in the center of the country, is currently at a standstill.