Deadly Attack: 2 UAE military advisers among several killed in Mogadishu camp

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Deadly Attack: 2 UAE military advisers among several killed in Mogadishu camp

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) – In a tragic incident at a military training camp in Mogadishu, at least four individuals, including two United Arab Emirates (UAE) military advisers from South Africa, lost their lives in a direct shooting on Saturda

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at least four individuals, including two UAE military advisers, lost their lives in a direct shooting in Mogadishu on Saturday afternoon.

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) – In a tragic incident at a military training camp in Mogadishu, at least four individuals, including two United Arab Emirates (UAE) military advisers from South Africa, lost their lives in a direct shooting on Saturday afternoon.

Somali security officials revealed that the attack originated from within the camp.

According to a military source, the assailant, identified as a soldier with access to the camp, utilized a machine gun during the assault.

Among the casualties were two senior Somali military officers, with more than six others sustaining injuries, one of whom is in critical condition.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud expressed his condolences for the loss of the UAE military advisers and promptly visited the hospital where the injured were receiving treatment.

He emphasized the need for a thorough investigation into the incident.

The General Gordon military training camp, which is under direct control of the UAE, serves as a hub for Somali soldiers trained and funded by the UAE.

The UAE military advisers were seemingly the intended targets of the attack.

Sources at the Somali Ministry of Defense disclosed that the UAE advisers, who are associated with the UAE Embassy, reside at Mogadishu airport but frequently visit the camp to oversee Somali soldiers’ training activities.

As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, the General Gordon camp’s history is marked by turbulence, having been closed down in 2018 after the UAE’s withdrawal following a dispute with the previous administration led by Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.

The camp was reopened after the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in 2022.

Recent tensions in Mogadishu have been attributed to anti-UAE sentiment, particularly concerning the UAE’s perceived support for the Ethiopia-Somaliland Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at accessing the Red Sea.

President Mohamud’s remarks in a speech delivered in Rome last week hinted at "external actors”, without explicitly naming the UAE, allegedly backing Ethiopia’s interests in the Red Sea region.