The al-Shabab attack occurs in the midst of a long-running political instability in Somalia and a drought in the Horn of Africa.
According to a local elder and the armed group al-Shabab; an African Union mission soldier camp in the Shabelle region of central Somalia was attacked.
“Early in the morning, we were awoken by massive explosions. The explosions took place at an African Union mission base. “A heavy exchange of gunfire ensued”; local elder Mohamed Nur told the Reuters news agency via phone on Tuesday from El Baraf, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Mogadishu’s capital.
