53 African Union peacekeepers killed in Somali offensive

[Oxidant]

The Associated Press
Date: Friday Mar. 4, 2011 12:19 PM ET
NAIROBI, Kenya — More than 50 African Union peacekeepers have died in fighting in Somalia since a major offensive against Islamist militants began two weeks ago, officials told The Associated Press on Friday.

The death toll is far higher than any publicly acknowledged casualty figures for the AU, which appears to be trying to keep the extent of its losses under wraps due to political considerations in Burundi, one of two nations providing the bulk of the forces that are fighting alongside Somali troops.

The offensive aims to break Islamists' lock on large swaths of the country's south and central regions. Al-Shabab, a Somali militant group with links to al-Qaida, has boxed in the government to just a few city blocks of the seaside capital. The group has instituted a Taliban-style system of rule, with strict edicts enforced by their own courts and public executions.

The government has been promising a full-scale war against militants for years, but co-ordination among its poorly trained, seldom-paid government forces has delayed that push.

The AU force, known as AMISOM, has publicly confirmed only a handful of deaths since heavy fighting broke started Feb. 19. An AU spokesman in Nairobi did not answer calls Friday. Burundi's government spokesman was unavailable for comment.

Wafula Wamunyinyi, the second-highest ranking official on the AU's commission for Somalia, declined to discuss casualty figures when reached Friday.

"I don't have that information where I am now," he said.

Two Nairobi-based diplomats said at least 43 Burundian and 10 Ugandan troops have been killed since Feb. 18, citing information from people involved in the operation. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

In addition, a Burundian soldier has been captured alive by militants, and his image and a recorded statement have been circulating on websites used by al-Shabab, Somalia's most dangerous insurgent group.

AMISOM says hundreds of militants from al-Shabab have been killed in the offensive. AMISOM officials say peacekeepers have taken back insurgent-controlled areas of Mogadishu, the capital. The AU says it controls up to 60 per cent of the city.

There are around 8,000 AU forces in Mogadishu, with another 4,000 due to begin arriving over the next few months. Almost all are Ugandan or Burundian. They support the country's weak U.N.-backed government against al-Shabab.

Few officials seem willing to acknowledge the heavy casualties AMISOM troops have suffered. But a statement from France's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs on Tuesday said that France evacuated 13 AMISOM troops by military aircraft to neighbouring Djibouti, where the French have a base, for medical care.

Since the offensive began, AMISOM troops have taken three key militant positions, including the former defence ministry that overlooks Bakara market, an insurgent stronghold. If the AU is able to deny al-Shabab access to the market, it might be able to deny the insurgency a key revenue stream -- collecting taxes from traders.

Troops also uncovered a mile-long tunnel network that militants were using to move fighters and ammunition close to AU positions in government-held areas. Fighting has been fierce, often building-to-building. During a prior visit to Mogadishu, AU soldiers showed AP how they were able to move from house to abandoned house by punching holes in the walls between them.

The AU troops fight with no air support, little body armour and armoured vehicles that are vulnerable to attack by rocket-propelled grenades.

The fighting has spread beyond the Somali capital, to the Kenyan and Ethiopian borders. In Somalia's south, fighters secretly recruited from refugee camps in 2009 and trained in Kenya have been pressed into action. A clan-based militia nominally allied with the Somali government, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama, is fighting the Islamists in Somalia's southeast.

It remains unclear whether the Somali government and its international backers have any plan to secure and develop territory they gain. The government has long failed to provide services or security to its people and its mandate expires in August.

The corruption and inefficiency has greatly hampered efforts to wrest back control of the country from the Islamists. Unpaid soldiers often sell their arms or ammunition, sometimes even to the other side.

A report last month by the think-tank International Crisis Group described the government as being on "life support." It urged the international community to redirect funding and support to regional administrations if the Somali government does not make significant progress in building alliances and providing better services.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for more than 20 years. Its lawless shores are a haven for pirates and intelligence agencies fear the failed state is also a training ground for international terrorists. Last July, the Somali insurgency launched its first foreign attack, multiple suicide bombings in Uganda that killed 76.

Medical authorities say the most recent round of fighting has killed more than 100 Somali civilians.

[LobsterUnit]

war afrikanki balaya ku dhacdey

[Cirwaaq]

[udun]

The keyword is at least 53

[Cirwaaq]

Sending Burundian troops to somalia has given them the opportunity to engage in war with a third party and the otherwise divided nation of burundi where genocide was common place has since all but diminished. They attained unity by engaging their forces in external warfare.

If peace ever returns to Moqadishu which country will absorb all the military forces created since 2009 to divert their appetite for death?

[Garuun]

2 weeks ago i posted this.

After warlords stepped back, it seemed somali militia fighters have completed abonded TFGs side, now the fight is purely AMISOM vs Sahabaab

this leads to high Amisom casualties,,,with sources in Mog are saying and AMISOM suffered somewhere between 40 and 50 casualty so far in feb due to increraed battle engagement.

afterall good news and profitable for mr. Museveni. he actually gets paid pretty heavy for every cadavar in Somalia

viewtopic.php?f=250&t=269494&p=3129154#p3129154

[AhlulbaytSoldier]

Shabab said almost 600 somali soldiers and almost 100 amisom have been killed since the offensive began, and no deads on their side(qawaarijta) except few woundings.

[Garuun]

note that,it was before their big offensive they captured former defense ministry..3 battilion with tanks and infantry about 2000 men took part ,the force of shabaab were probably much smaller number.

sources in mog say that 35 fallen amisom that day just to capture the Building..that former ministry building used be a military base for ethiopian forces occupation, its there and warshada baastada where the xabashis suffered most casualty frequently. still they had no control over the city, in fact its difiicult to defend that location.

[Garuun]

Shabab said almost 600 somali soldiers and almost 100 amisom have been killed since the offensive began, and no deads on their side(qawaarijta) except few woundings.

hutu

some say there were actually less somali soldier casualty..but 100 is reliable number...

[Shirib]

how many civilians died? Those are the real casualties

[union]

Who cares? We have 12,000 more ready to die for the advancement of the Somali state.
Also, we are expecting a further 4,000 AMISOM troops to enter the nation and take part in the war against terror. United Africa.

[Garuun]

United Africa.

Muaamar Gaddafi

[Mr. Yungnfresh]

Who cares? We have 12,000 more ready to die for the advancement of the Somali state.
Also, we are expecting a further 4,000 AMISOM troops to enter the nation and take part in the war against terror. United Africa.

Did u hold a candlelight vigil for each of the 53 dead AU troops, u neocon bastard?

[Cirwaaq]

Shabab is a Hornets nest awaiting to be fractured beyond containment.

I will be surprised at anyone who sheds a tear for either side!

Shabab = TFG


When you take actions of criminals then you are no better then the criminal themself!

Loyalty must in such case become a fulcrum of maintaining absolute equilibrium so as to ensure both side annihilate each other into oblivion.

There is a third side worthy of support = Equilibrium

When the opportunity presents itself the civilians should turn against both aggressors and force them into a situation where enither can make a return

[union]

Who cares? We have 12,000 more ready to die for the advancement of the Somali state.
Also, we are expecting a further 4,000 AMISOM troops to enter the nation and take part in the war against terror. United Africa.

Did u hold a candlelight vigil for each of the 53 dead AU troops, u neocon bastard?

After the war I shall petition the government for a great monument in the capital for all the foreigners who died fighting for Somali liberation.