Thursday December 1, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - African Union Transition Mission in Somalia ATMIS killed a civilian at Elasha Biyaha in the Lower Shabelle region after an apparent road accident involving two armoured vehicles.
The young man was rushed to a local hospital, where he died.
Immediately after the accident, people gathered around the convoy and blocked the road.
Local authorities, including officials from the Somali Police Force, the Governor of Lower Shabelle and the District Commissioner, were called to the scene and negotiated with protestors to allow the convoy to pass.
“The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia expresses its heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased and has since set up a preliminary investigation team to work closely with witnesses, government, and local authorities to investigate the deeply regrettable accident.”
ATMIS said that it would share its findings with a Board of Inquiry.
The last major road accident involving African Union peacekeepers was in June 2019, when an ATMIS armoured vehicle in Mogadishu struck a three-wheeled auto rickshaw , commonly referred to as Bajaj, killing two soldiers and a civilian.
At least nine people were killed and 15 others wounded in January 2017 after a truck belonging to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) rammed into a civilian minibus on the outskirts of Mogadishu.