50 dead in Shebab attack on AU base: Western sources

At least 50 African Union soldiers are believed to have been killed and another 50 are missing after Shebab militants overran a military camp in southern Somalia, according to Western military officials.

“It is assessed that at least 50 AMISOM troops died,” said a briefing note sent to diplomats by Western military officials and seen by AFP. It said that in total around 100 soldiers were “unaccounted for” after the attack.

Somalia’s Al-Qaeda affiliate said the attack in <g data-gr-id="16">Janale</g> district, 80 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu in the Lower Shabelle region, was revenge for the killing of seven civilians by Ugandan troops at a wedding in the town of Merka in July.

AMISOM has said the camp was manned by soldiers from Uganda. The number feared dead matches that claimed by a Shebab spokesman.