The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) would like to repudiate allegations by a local media organization, which claimed that its convoy killed a woman in Albao area, 20kms northwest of Mogadishu, on July 9, 2017. In the interest of the people of Somalia, AMISOM would like to state the following;
- On 9 July 2017, an AMISOM convoy from Albao Forward Operating Base (FOB) ran into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which exploded and seriously damaged one of its vehicles.
- A soldier sustained minor injuries while fragments from the IED hit and injured a Somali woman who was nearby.
- The woman who was pregnant was immediately evacuated to the AMISOM level II hospital, where she received emergency treatment and was later transferred to a local hospital in central Mogadishu, for further treatment.
- The woman is in a stable condition and continues to receive in-patient care.
The allegations made by Shabelle Media have been investigated by the Civilian Casualty Tracking, Analysis and Response Cell (CCTARC) and were found to be false. Claims that the woman had been killed by AMISOM is therefore malicious and a deliberate move meant to cause disaffection and damage to the reputation of the AU Mission.
AMISOM is always committed to sharing information with the media that would help them write factual stories and correctly inform the people. AMISOM appeals to journalists to be professional and fair in their reports and desist from misleading the public.
