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Ethiopia base in Somalia 'attacked by al-Shabab' | Ethiopia base in Somalia 'attacked by al-Shabab' |
(35 minutes later) | |
Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab says it has killed more than 40 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on an African Union base in central Somalia. | Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab says it has killed more than 40 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on an African Union base in central Somalia. |
Residents in Halgan told the BBC they had heard a huge bang followed by a heavy exchange of gunfire. | |
The AU mission (Amisom) has confirmed the attack but says the "enemy was successfully repulsed". | |
Amisom supports the government as it fights to regain control of the country from al-Shabab. | |
In a series of tweets it has said its soldiers, alongside troops from the Somali army, "drove back the attackers who are now on the run with the joint forces in pursuit". | |
Africa Live: More on this and other news stories | |
Ethiopia is one of five countries contributing troops to the 22,000-strong mission and this is the first time an Ethiopian-run Amisom base has been attacked. | |
In January, al-Shabab targeted a Kenyan base in el-Ade, southern Somalia. | |
It said it had killed more than 100 soldiers but the Kenyan authorities have not confirmed the death toll. | |
Al-Shabab has also attacked Amisom bases run by troops from Burundi and Uganda. |