Somalia: Mortar fire rocks Mogadishu; military engages in gunfight with police

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least four mortar shells were fired at the heavily fortified Halane Base Camp in Mogadishu, witnesses said, barely a fortnight after four people were killed under similar circumstances within the vicinity of the facility.

The Saturday evening attack comes at the time security forces within the African Union Mission in Somalia and those from the US are taking part in the ongoing efforts to curb escalating Coronavirus pandemic, which informed the decision to impose a lockdown in the camp.

Explosions were heard in quick successions within the area, which surrounds the popular Aden Adde International Airport, witnesses said, further raising doubts about the safety of the capital, Mogadishu, which has in recent years, enjoyed relative peace.

Halane Base Camp hosts the African Union Mission in Somalia, the United Nations, several Western diplomatic missions and some accredited international agencies, due to it's guaranteed safety that is offered by AU forces.

Abdihalim Bashir, a resident from across the vicinity of the base said: "I stay close to the airport and could hear five rounds of motor shells fired towards the Airport." "We were breaking our fast when we heard explosions of the indirect fire. I can't however exactly locate where it hit."

Following the mortar shelling, the Somali military engaged in a deadly gunfight with police in Kuwa-Godey area withing Wadajir district on Saturday evening, according to the residents at least 2 soldiers were killed and 7 others sustained in wounds from the infighting. 

The confrontation came after police searching where the mortars fired from clashed with military forces in the village. Both sides have exchanged heavy gunfire that continued for about 30 minutes. 

Just like all Muslims in the world, Somalia, being a predominantly Muslim nation, is observing the holy month of Ramadhan. But unlike in the past, movements of people have been restricted in Mogadishu as a wider plan to combat the spread of COVID-19.

"Although I heard the sound of the fire, I still tried to take a walk at the airport vicinity after Iftar but I was denied access to the road," added Abdulkadir Cadde on his Twitter account.

"There's a total lockdown in the whole area now. Hundreds of people used to take a walk at the airport road in the evening but not tonight," he said, in reference to high surveillance in the region due to Coronavirus outbreak.

Although the city is highly guarded by security forces, it's not clear how the militants often manage to wage attacks, and particularly those targeting the facility. Saturday attack is the third within one month, a move that could force security stakeholders to go back to the drawing board.

Brig. General Richard Otto, the commander of Sector I in which Mogadishu falls, on Saturday had said that the AMISOM troops were equipped to deal with both the Coronavirus pandemic and emerging security threats from Al-Shabaab

“Our mission here is to degrade Al-Shabaab and bring peace to Somalia. While we have all protocols to deal with Covid-19, we are very ready to ensure that we achieve our mission,” said the commander, who is in charge of Ugandan troops.

In the face of all this, the work to fulfill AMISOM’s mandate goes on unabated, he noted, in reference to the recent attempted attack by Al-Shabaab militants within Barawe army camp in Southwest, which was quickly thwarted by UPDF.

“The morale of our troops is high in all our areas of operation. Just recently in Barawe, we neutralized a threat involving two Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices. That’s how alert we are,” he said, lauding the troops for "a well-done job".

Uganda suspended rotation of its troops recently when one of them tested positive for COVID-19, UPDF spokesperson Richard Karemire had said. Nine soldiers were put under quarantine, he added.

Through proxy media houses, Al-Shabaab took responsibility for the attack, saying that "we shall continue the battle against our enemies who do not have regard to Somalia people. We shall soldier on with our mission".

AMISOM troops are set to leave Somalia in 2021 when their mandate formally expires and already, a host of Somali National Army [SNA] officers have been trained to take over the responsibility for security in the Horn of Africa nation, ambassador Francisco Madeira had said.

GAROWE ONLINE