May 30. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has condemned this Monday the attack perpetrated by the terrorist group Al Shabaab against a military base of the forces of the Transitional Mission of the African Union in Somalia (ATMIS) in the south of the African country. .
Guterres has conveyed his “deepest condolences to the families of the deceased, as well as to the Government and the people of Uganda”, because the base was made up of Ugandan personnel, while he has wished a “prompt and complete recovery to the injured “. However, neither ATMIS nor Somalia have yet given official figures, although the terrorist organization has assured that at least 137 soldiers died.
Likewise, Guterres’s spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, has indicated that the Secretary General has paid tribute to all the ATMIS troops and has expressed his gratitude for their service in support of peace and stability in Somalia.
He has also reiterated, as can be read in a statement, his call for international support to be provided to ATMIS and Somali security forces in their fight against violent extremism.
Al Shabaab launched an attack on an ATMIS military base in Bula-Marer in the Lower Shabelle region last Friday, killing “dozens of Ugandan soldiers deployed there.” The attack took place just a day after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud stated that the country is “at a key moment” and stressed that the security forces seek to “eliminate the threat of extremist elements, such as Al Shabaab”. to ensure the safety of the population.
Somalia has in recent months increased offensives against Al Shabaab, linked to Al Qaeda, with support from clans and local militias as part of a series of decisions taken by the president, who promised upon taking office to put the fight against terrorism at the center of his efforts to stabilize the African country.
