Wednesday March 10, 2021
People walk past wreckage at the scene of a bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
The UN top envoy in Somalia on Tuesday condemned a mortar attack on an international airport in Mogadishu which injured an unknown number of people.
The mortar attack targeted the offices of the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday. The offices are located inside the heavily-protected Adan Adde International Airport.
James Swan, UN secretary-general’s special representative for Somalia said six mortar rounds landed within the perimeter of the Aden Adde International Airport which houses the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) headquarters.
“I condemn this al-Shabab mortar attack on the airport facility in Mogadishu,” Swan said in a statement issued in Mogadishu after the attack at the heavily fortified facility which came ahead of planned consultative talks between the government and leaders of the federal member states.
Al-Shabab which has been fighting to topple the Western-backed government claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
Swan said no United Nations facilities were affected and no United Nations personnel were casualties of the mortars.
“We wish a speedy recovery to those injured elsewhere at the airport. Despite such acts of violence, Somalia’s international partners remain committed to stand by the people of Somalia, and continue supporting the advancement of the country,” he assured.
Al-Shabab often launches gun and bomb attacks on officials, Somali security forces and AMISOM facilities in an effort to topple the government and impose its own brand of government on Somalia.