MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – At least 5 civilians were killed and 10 others wounded in Somalia’s capital on Monday morning when African Union peacekeepers indiscriminately opened fire on residents after blast hit their convoy north of Mogadishu.
Residents in the city’s Jamhuriya neighborhood told local media that a huge blast ripped through a vehicle part of an African Union military convoy traveling through north of the Somali capital.
AMISOM troops subsequently opened fire on civilians, many of whom were heading to work during a morning rush hour, local officials said.
Photos from the scene circulated on social media show vehicles riddled with bullets left near the site of the attack, as a result of the shooting by African Union peacekeepers.
At least 5 civilians are known to have been killed by the African Union peacekeepers with more than 10 others wounded. But the number is likely to increase, according to Somali security officials.
Casualties inflicted by the explosion on the targeted AMISOM troops yet remain unknown, but witnesses have told Somaliguardian that they saw an armored military vehicle damaged by the blast, though it has later been removed from the area where the attack happened.
AMISOM has not immediately commented on the incident, but a similar incident involving shooting by peacekeepers on civilians wounded at least 5 people last month in the north of Mogadishu.
The African Union peacekeepers had shot dead at least 8 civilians in Suqa-holaha neighborhood a few months ago after one of their vehicles struck a roadside bomb planted on the road. A few weeks later, local media reported that the peacekeepers killed an elderly woman in a point-blank shooting in Mahaday, a town some 118 km north of Mogadishu.
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