Africa News of Monday, 12 February 2024

Source: bbc.com

Bodies of UAE soldiers killed in Somalia arrive home

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the attack Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the attack

The bodies of three military officers from the United Arab Emirates - who were killed in a militant attack in Somalia - have arrived in Abu Dhabi.

A statement said a fourth officer who sustained injuries during the attack on Saturday had died on arrival in the UAE.

Emirati officials said the military officers had been in Somalia training local troops.

A Bahraini soldier was also killed in the attack, which the Islamist group al-Shabab says it carried out.

In a statement mourning the killing of its soldier, the Bahrain army condemned the attack, terming it an "act of aggression".

Local media report that the alleged attacker, a Somali soldier who was staying in the camp, had recently defected from al-Shabab.

The attack targeted the troops at the General Gordon Military Base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the attack and ordered the country's security forces to conduct a “thorough and urgent investigation”.

Al-Shabab continues to carry out deadly attacks in Somalia despite the intensified military offensive against the group by federal troops since August 2022.