Somalia: AMISOM refutes allegations of civilian deaths in Marka

21st July 2015- The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) strongly refutes allegations being circulated in the media in which AMISOM soldiers are accused of killing civilians in Marka town.

AMISOM would like to state that at about 8:45am today, AMISOM troops on regular patrols encountered an Al Shabaab training center at Juujomo, close to El Hindi Village.

In the ensuing gun battle to dislodge the terrorists, as AMISOM is mandated to do, five Al Shabaab fighters were killed including one of their notorious leaders, Mohammed Dahir.

It is instructive to also mention the fact that two riffles, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), an instruction board and the Al Shabaab flag were also recovered from the scene.

For the avoidance of doubt, AMISOM would like to reiterate that, in line with our Rules of Engagement (RoE) which are in consonance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), our troops are under obligation to avoid civilian casualties and to exercise maximum restraint even under imminent attack. And it is in this regard that in this particular event, AMISOM categorically denounces this devious allegation especially as our troops were not involved in this alleged killing of civilians in Marka Town.

AMISOM will continue to conduct patrols to ensure the safety and security of the population in the area.

________________________________
For more information, please contact; Eloi Yao and Lt Col Paul Njuguna, AMISOM Spokespersons,
Cell phone: (Somalia) +252 618 508 181 / +252 699 563 476 / +252 617 682 175;
(Nairobi) +254 702 155 126 / +254 728 701 222;
Email: amisommediacentre@gmail.com