Somalia: Al Shabaab say attack on AMISOM base was retaliation of civilian massacre

Abdirahman. A

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Al Shabaab has said that the attack on an African Union peacekeepers base in Southern Somalia was payback for a massacre of civilians by the foreign troops in the port town of Marka in July.
The al-Qaeda-linked extremists launched a deadly assault on Tuesday early morning on a military camp for the Ugandan forces in the town of Janale in Lower Shabelle region, killing at least 20 peacekeepers, according to reliable sources from the Somali government.
‘’The attack was in retaliation to the massacre carried out by the Ugandan soldiers in Marka, where they turned a wedding party to a funeral,’’ said al-Shabaab spokesman, Abdiaziz Musab.
Last month, AMISOM admitted that the peacekeepers had killed seven civilians from the same family on the 31st of July in Marka, an incident that damaged the standing of the peacekeeping forces and faced criticism from the Somali community and International human rights organizations.
Al Shabaab claimed that it had overrun the base and seized ammunition from the AU troops. But AMISOM which released a press statement said that it regained the control of the base.
‘’Although our troops undertook a tactical withdrawal following the initial vehicle borne explosive attack, they have since consolidated and regained full control of the base.’’
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