Al-Shabab militants attacked convoys carrying Ethiopian troopers in Somalia’s southwestern Bakool area early Sunday, Somali officers mentioned.
The ambush focused two convoys, one touring from the Somali city of Yeed to Wajid and the second convoy because it traveled from El Barde to the city of Huddur. Ethiopian troops have bases in Wajid and Huddur.
A Somali official mentioned native forces have been accompanying the convoy that was en path to Huddur from El Barde.
The mayor of Huddur, Omar Abdullahi Mohamud, advised VOA Somali that the preventing began after the al-Shabab ambushes.
“The preventing began after the anti-peace components attacked the Ethiopian and Somali army convoy transferring in the direction of Wajid and Huddur, beginning off their assault with explosion,” Mohamud mentioned. “The troops have repulsed, and the state of affairs is calm.”
Mohamud claimed the militants misplaced as many as 50 fighters.
A senior Somali regional official who requested to not be recognized advised VOA Somali that the extra intense ambush focused Ethiopian troops escorting army provides to Ethiopian troopers in Wajid.
He mentioned when that convoy left the city of Yeed on Saturday, it spent the evening close to the village of Booco, about 40 kilometers north of Wajid.
“At daybreak the convoy resumed its journey in the direction of Wajid however have been ambushed by al-Shabab,” he mentioned.
“We heard two autos have been hit by explosions.”
He mentioned the preventing lasted for hours.
Al-Shabab claimed duty for the ambush. Al-Shabab in a press release claimed it killed 167 Ethiopian troopers, destroyed army autos, and seized a cache of weapons and ammunition. Casualty figures given by each side haven’t been independently verified.
In the meantime, Ethiopia’s ambassador to Somalia, Mukhtar Mohamed Ware advised VOA he noticed al-Shabab’s declare on social media and described it as “propaganda.”
“They might attempt [to attack Ethiopian forces] however they can’t even hearth for greater than 10 minutes towards Ethiopian defenses’ forces,” he mentioned.
“This can be a skilled military; it’s a really nicely geared up, very nicely organized, it’s at all times hitting exhausting on the subject of al-Shabab, so it is a mere propaganda; it’s no more than a propaganda towards Ethiopia and towards Ethiopian protection forces.”
He rejected al-Shabab’s assertion, which labeled Ethiopian troops as “crusaders.”
“We aren’t crusaders; we’re there beneath the African Union and worldwide neighborhood choices to assist reliable authorities of Somalia in its effort to determine peace on this nation. So, it is a mere propaganda blown by al-Shabab that’s generally recognized.”
Ethiopia has hundreds of troops in Somalia serving as a part of the African Union Transition Mission, or ATMIS, and different forces in Somalia which are there primarily based on preparations with the federal government in Mogadishu.
A safety supply advised VOA the ambushed troops weren’t a part of ATMIS.
“The ambush is true, the incident was unhealthy, however the numbers given by al-Shabab have been exaggerated,” the supply mentioned.
In the meantime, Somali officers have reported that authorities troops have captured the primary city of Ba’adweyne and the three smaller villages of Qodqod, Qay’advert, and Shabelow.
Native forces commander Mohamed Nur Ali Gadaar advised VOA that al-Shabab fled Ba’adweyne and two of the villages after a short firefight on Sunday. Authorities troops supported by native fighters are actually heading towards a fourth city, Amaara, in Galmudug state, he mentioned.
The Somali authorities additionally reported conducting an operation in collaboration with “worldwide companions” close to the village of Ali Foldhere within the Center Shabelle area on Saturday and Sunday towards al-Shabab militants who’ve been making an attempt to cross a river.
The function of worldwide companions within the ongoing operations has been restricted to airstrikes towards al-Shabab fighters and autos.
Abdiwahid Moalin Isak contributed to this report.