Ugandan soldiers injured in helicopter crash in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A helicopter belonging to the Ugandan People's Defense Forces [UPDF] on Friday crashed in Ballidogle airbase in Lower Shabelle, the African Union Mission in Somalia said in a statement, adding that all the soldiers that were on board were rescued.

The helicopter, AMISOM said in a tweet, crashed immediately after take-off in the heavily fortified airbase which has been home you the American troops who left on January 15 after several years of service in the war-torn nation. There were four soldiers in the aircraft when it crashed, AMISOM added.

All the four soldiers who had boarded the aircraft were rescued with wounds, according to the AMISOM team. This was the first aircraft attached to the AMISOM team to crash this year in Somalia skies which are after all not regarded as safe by authorities in the country.

"A Helicopter on a mission to support AMISOM troops crashed soon after take-off in Balidogle in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia on Friday. All four soldiers aboard the helicopter were rescued and are in a stable medical condition," read the tweet from AMISOM team.

Uganda has close to 4,500 soldiers serving in the mission and most of them are located in Lower Shebelle and the capital Mogadishu where the Al-Shabaab militants have been raiding frequently. It's not clear if the soldiers were going on a mission at the time of the crash.

The Ballidogle airbase is home to the US troops who just left recently but it's also used for logistical purposes by the AMISOM forces in the country. The air case has been a target for the Al-Shabaab militants who have often launched attacks in the porous Lower Shabelle region.

Uganda is one of the peacekeeping mission team in Somalia and has been facilitating it since 2007. The team has managed the liberate several towns in Somalia with the help of the Somali National Army and those from the US Africa Command.

GAROWE ONLINE