Mortar shells hit fortified Green Zone in Somalia's capital

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least two civilians were injured within the vicinity of Halane Base Camp and Aden Adde International Airport, reports have emerged, after Al-Shabaab staged another deadly attack in Mogadishu on Sunday.

At least nine mortars shells were fired at the heavily fortified facility, which houses both African Union troops and several diplomatic mission offices on Sunday evening, raising questions about safety within the green zone area.

The shells left two civilians critically injured and are said to be receiving treatment within the Base Camp, which has a Level II hospital that offers treatment to injured troops within Somalia, sources said.

It's not immediately clear if the injured people are affiliated to the AU Mission or the diplomatic mission in Somalia. AMISOM, which is mandated to give information about such incidents, is yet to issue a statement.

The mortar shells were of 60mm, and are associated with Al-Shabaab militants. Besides targeting the Halane Basecamp, it's not clear who the militants were after in the airport, which is a close neighbor of the camp.

It's the third time within this year that the militants are targeting the base camp. In March, AMISOM accused Al-Shabaab of destruction and warned that "our troops are working around the clock to nab the culprits" following an attack within the region.

Through proxy media, Al-Shabaab confirmed the attack, adding that "we shall not allow foreigners to occupy our land forcefully. We shall continue fighting back until we liberate our nation from enemies".

For years now, the group has waged a fight against AU forces, which it accuses of "occupation" in Somalia. Besides the mortars, the group also targets the mission's convoys using Improvised Explosive Devices [IEDs].

In recent weeks, the Al-Qaeda linked group has however suffered casualties, following ground combats by AU forces and Somali National Army [SNA], which is usually aided by sophisticated aerial bombardments by the US military.

Last month, the troops lost the strategic town of Janaale in Lower Shebelle, which it had controlled for a decade. Since January, Al-Shabaab has lost 60 fighters to US aerial attacks besides having hundreds killed in ground operations, officials said.

Gen. Abdihamid Dirir, the commander of land forces in Shebelle, said the group's head of Zakawat was arrested during security operations. However, he did not name the individual.

"Our operation has been successful, we managed to arrest the head of Zakawat in Lower Shebelle. The troops are focused to completely vanquish the militants," he told reporters.

So far, top militants have succumbed to the operations. For instance, Bashir Qorgab, who is linked to the Manda Airfield attack on Jan. 5, was killed a month later. Yusuf Jiis become the latest militant to be killed this month.

While rights groups have been raising issues about civilian casualties, US Africa Command insisted that "due diligence is done before any attack. Our main target is usually the militants".

The AU forces are set to leave Somalia in 2021 according to a tentative plan unveiled by Lt. Gen Tigabu Yilma, who is the force commander. Already, 1,000 troops have left to their respective countries of the 22,000 troops.

Somalia is expected to hold universal suffrage elections in December, although stakeholders are yet to settle on a proper model. The UN and United States are spearheading talks for a free, fair and transparent election.

GAROWE ONLINE