According to the US "Washington Post", citing sources, on the 10th local time, a United Nations helicopter was hijacked by the Somali "al-Shabaab" after making an emergency landing in Galguduud State, Somalia, resulting in at least one death and five captures. According to anonymous officials, there were four Europeans and five Africans on board, including a Somali national. UN Secretary-General's spokesman Dujarric also said that there was a security incident involving UN helicopters in Somalia, but he did not provide further details due to concerns about the safety of those on board.
The United Nations plane was hijacked
Al Jazeera, citing an internal United Nations document, said that due to a mechanical failure, a helicopter carrying out an emergency assistance mission made an emergency landing near the village of Gadoon in Galguduud State, Somalia, on the 10th local time, which was controlled by the Somali "Al-Shabaab" armed group. According to the document, a total of nine people on board, including military personnel and third-party contractors, were not United Nations staff. At least five passengers have reportedly been detained by Al-Shabaab. The document also states that flights of all United Nations aircraft in the vicinity have been suspended.
Mohamed Abdi Adan, Minister of Internal Security in Somalia's Garmudug State, also said on the 10th that the UN helicopter carrying soldiers and medical personnel was on an evacuation mission at the time and was forced to land in central Somalia after a mechanical failure. According to him, a total of two people on board managed to escape with rifles, including a Somali national, but another person who tried to escape was killed by militants, who "took the remaining hostages after the helicopter crashed".
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, also confirmed this news on the 10th. Dujarric said that the United Nations is preparing to form an assessment team on the matter. "I can confirm that today there was a hijacking of a helicopter chartered by the United Nations in Galmudug County, Somalia," he said at a regular press conference at United Nations headquarters in New York. ”
Dujarric noted that the United Nations is concerned about the safety of those on board. "We are taking action in response, but I think everyone understands that it is not appropriate for us to disclose more details at this time for the safety of everyone involved. Our primary concern is their safety, so that's all we can say at the moment. ”
The feud between the President of Somalia and Al-Shabaab
Since Hassan Sheikh Mohamud became president of Somalia in 2022, he has vowed to suppress Al-Shabaab militarily and financially. In Mahmoud's view, al-Shabaab is one of the causes of the instability in Somalia. Especially since 2012, the Somali federal government has been exhausted by the internal conflict and plunged into the war with Al-Shabaab, Somalia has gradually become a major base for pirates, and the government has been unable to solve the Somaliland problem.
▲Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud
As soon as Mahmoud came to power, he sent troops to southern and central Somalia, and US President Joe Biden redeployed a contingent of 450 US troops to Somalia. With the help of U.S. forces, U.S. drones, and local Somali tribal militias, Somali forces have liberated dozens of towns and villages occupied by Al-Shabaab. Mahmoud has also cracked down on Al-Shabaab economically, restricting its financial system and vowing to shut down businesses that pay ransom to al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab remains belligerent in the face of the Somali government's offensive, launching numerous attacks on security forces and unarmed civilians across the country, such as in August 2022, when Al-Shabaab laid siege to an upscale hotel in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, for 30 hours, resulting in 21 deaths and more than 100 injuries. Al-Shabaab also killed dozens of local officials and town managers for mobilizing the population against the group and supporting the government's purge of al-Shabaab.
In addition, the way Al-Shabaab treats hostages is also very cruel, and they will kill them brutally without showing any mercy. In this case the hijacking of the United Nations plane, expert analysis said that the "Al-Shabaab" is likely to use the hostages as bargaining chips or try to demand ransom in exchange for the hostages. In response, a senior Somali government official said that discussions were underway within the government and other security agencies with the United Nations on how to rescue the hostages. "We will do everything we can to try to rescue them. ”
Terrorist organization "Al-Shabaab"
The predecessor of the Somali "Al-Shabaab" was the Union of Islamic Courts. Following the fall of the Siad Barre regime in Somalia in January 1991, the situation in Somalia continued to be volatile and gave rise to a large number of armed factions, including the Union of Islamic Courts. In 2007, the Union of Islamic Courts was expelled from most of the occupied territories, and its defeat also led to internal divisions, in which young people who adhered to a hard-line line separated from the group to form the Somali "Al-Shabaab", which grew in strength and at one time occupied most of central and southern Somalia.
As an anti-government force that pursues Islamic extremism, Al-Shabaab sought to overthrow the federal transitional government of Somalia and eventually establish a "Greater Islamic State of Somalia" that would include all of Somalia. Al-Shabaab officially joined al-Qaeda in 2012 and completed its transformation into terrorism.
On June 7, 2012, the U.S. Department of State offered a $33 million reward to track down the whereabouts of seven key leaders of the Somali rebel group Al-Shabaab, marking the first time that the United States has targeted senior figures of the Somali Al-Shabaab.
In addition, following the formation of a new Somali government in September 2012 and with the assistance of African Union peacekeepers, the new government gradually expelled Somali Al-Shabaab forces from key cities, causing them to retreat into remote areas. Since then, Al-Shabaab has regularly carried out retaliatory attacks in Somalia and has expanded its targeting to countries and organizations participating in AU peacekeeping forces. In addition to committing serious terrorist attacks in Somalia on many occasions, Al-Shabaab has also attacked refugee camps, kidnapped and killed international aid workers, seized the property and equipment of United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, and attacked African Union military bases.
News and picture sources: Al Jazeera, New York Times, CNN, some pictures from the Internet
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