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How did a UN helicopter fall into al-Shabab’s hands in Somalia?
On Wednesday (11), armed group al-Shabab captured a United Nations-contracted helicopter in Somalia, killing one person and kidnapping several other passengers and crew members on board. The helicopter was on a medical evacuation mission from Beledweyne city in central Somalia and was heading to Wisil town approximately 500km (310 miles) away, but had been forced to land midway through the journey after an apparent accident, when al-Shabab attacked.
This latest attack is one of al-Shabab’s more daring assaults in recent months and comes amid an intensifying offensive against the group by the Somali military, launched in 2022. In its early stages, the military campaign saw some gains but suffered setbacks last year when al-Shabab recovered territory it had lost.
The UN World Food Programme, the largest humanitarian operator in Somalia, said it had suspended all its flights in the area as a result of the attack.
Details are still unclear, but here’s what we know so far about the assault and kidnapping:
A United Nations memo seen by Al Jazeera confirmed that the kidnapped workers on board the helicopter were third-party contractors of the UN, and that two of them were Somali men. There were also people from African and European countries, but it’s not clear what the exact nationalities of these passengers are. Some reports say there were eight passengers, others say there were nine in total.
One person was killed in the attack, according to several reports. The location of two other passengers is unknown and it’s possible they may have escaped in the attack. The precise number of kidnapped persons currently in the hands of the armed group is not clear.
The helicopter was on a medical evacuation mission. At least some of its passengers were military personnel and it was also carrying medical supplies onboard. The aircraft had taken off in Beledweyne city in central Somalia and was heading east to Wisil town. But it crash-landed near Hindhere village after an object struck its main rotor blade. The crash site was within al-Shabab territory and bordering the Galguduud region on the front line of the government offensive. It is not clear what the object was or whether it had been deliberately launched by al-Shabab fighters.
The Washington Post reported that al-Shabab fighters set fire to the vehicle after they seized the passengers.
Al-Shabab is an armed group that has operated in Somalia since 2006 and wishes to create a state that adheres to its strict interpretation of Islam in Somalia. The group, which commands thousands of fighters, has targeted civilians and military outposts in deadly and often gruesome attacks, launching assaults into neighbouring Kenya on some occasions.
It currently controls large swaths of territory in southern and central Somalia, where many regard its civil and legal institutions as being more stable than those of the state. To generate revenue, al-Shabab taxes civilians in its area of control, raking in about $100m monthly according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS).
Al-Shabab had a strong presence in the country’s capital city for a time in the late 2000s, but African Union (AU) troops helped to push the group out of Mogadishu in 2011. Since the mid-2010s, the Somali military, supported by AU troops and US bombing, has tried to seize back control from its strongholds. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected in May 2022, promised to crack down harder on al-Shabab and his government has warned the armed group to hand in their guns or face military assaults.
But al-Shabab fighters have continued to launch daring and deadly offensives. The group was linked to 6,225 deaths in 2022 alone, according to ACSS, representing a 120 percent increase in its attacks since 2019. Some of al-Shabab’s most recent assaults include car bombings in Mogadishu in October 2022, which killed about 120 people. In November of the same year, al-Shabab fighters seized a popular hotel close to the presidential villa and maintained possession of it for more than a day. Nine people were killed in that attack.
Although al-Shabab has not formally taken responsibility for Wednesday’s UN helicopter attack, it has in the past kidnapped aid workers, some of whom are still missing.
There aren’t many details about a potential rescue mission.
Somali officials told Reuters on Thursday that the government is working to free the kidnapped workers but added that the area where they were taken would be difficult to access.
“The government has been undertaking efforts to rescue the crew since yesterday when the accident happened, and efforts still go on,” Information Minister Daud Aweis, said without providing more details of the rescue mission.
Military officials speaking to Reuters, painted a more dire picture however, saying that a land operation to rescue the hostages was not feasible because the area is fully under the armed group’s control and the local population supported al-Shabab.
“I do not know if there will be commandos on planes with the help of foreigners,” one Major said. “That may be the only possible way to rescue them, but so far it has not happened.”
(Aljazeera)
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) sources confirmed earlier today (12) that a SLAF MI-17 helicopter on a UN mission had crash landed in the Central African Republic.
The aid group Doctors Without Borders has reported recovering 11 bodies and rescuing dozens of people off the coast of Libya as it criticised the migration policies of the North African country and European countries.
In a statement on Friday, the group, known by its French initials MSF, said its Geo Barents rescue vessel managed to recover the bodies following a search operation lasting more than nine hours after being alerted by German nongovernmental organisation Sea-Watch, which also rescues refugees and migrants.
“As we cannot determine the reason behind this tragedy, we know that people will continue to take dangerous routes in a desperate attempt to reach safety, and Europe must find safe and legal pathways for them,” MSF said in a post on X. “This catastrophe must end!”
Sea-Watch said it is unclear whether the bodies were victims of a previously unknown shipwreck, adding that they tried to contact Libya’s coastguard to go and retrieve the dead, but received no reply.
“The so-called Libyan coastguard – financed by the EU – ignored our call demanding that the bodies be recovered,” the group said.
Thousands of people trying to head from Africa to Europe use Libya as a departing point, with the Italian island of Lampedusa the nearest European destination as they undertake the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to escape war, poverty and persecution.
Italy, which wants to put a stop to the migration stream, has said Libya and neighbouring Tunisia must do more to stop people from going to sea. It has also clamped down on the operation of the rescue ships, arguing that they encourage people to head to Europe, a charge that is denied by the charities.
Emphasising its policy on the rescue ships, Italy said on Friday that it forced the MSF rescue vessel to take the 165 people that it had saved from boats in the Mediterranean operation to the northern port of Genoa. The port was more than 650 nautical miles (1,200km) from their position and much farther than the more convenient ports in nearby Sicily, significantly delaying assistance to the rescued.
The route in the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world, with the United Nations registering more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the area since 2014.
More than 3,000 refugees and migrants went missing in 2023 while attempting to use the route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
According to Italy’s interior ministry, the number of arrivals in the country has dropped in 2024 to fewer than 21,800 people since the beginning of the year, compared with close to 53,300 in the same period last year.
[Aljazeera]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
Afghanistan boosted their Super Eight chances with yet another dominating win, this time thumping New Zealand by 84 runs in Providence. Having beaten Uganda by 125 runs in their opening match, they are now at the top of Group C with a net run rate of 5.225.
After being sent in, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs. It came off the back of the 154 the pair added against Uganda, thus making them the first opening pair to register two successive century stands in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan’s was an innings of two halves. They scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the last ten, with Gurbaz contributing 80 off 56 balls. New Zealand, who had decided not to play any warm-up games, looked every bit rusty as their fielders dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.
With the pitch assisting both seamers and spinners, chasing 160 was not going to be easy. But few would have expected New Zealand to collapse in the manner they did.
Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up three wickets in the powerplay and Rashid Khan three just after it. Eventually, both ended with identical figures of 4 for 17 as New Zealand were bowled out for 75 in the 15.2 overs. Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double digits.
Trent Boult found some swing in the opening over but Gurbaz and Ibrahim showed their intent by picking up three fours off Henry from the other end. Both batters had luck on their side, too. Gurbaz got a second life when he skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which went on to brush the leg stump but the bails did not budge. In the following over, Finn Allen dropped Ibrahim off Henry at the deep-square-leg boundary.
That was not all. Gurbaz got another reprieve after being involved in a miscommunication with Ibrahim. Having taken off for a single, Gurbaz had to retrace his steps and would have been run out had Conway not fumbled the throw.
Two balls later, New Zealand finally seemed to have found success when Santner pinged Ibrahim’s pads and umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it lbw. But the batter got the decision overturned on review as the ball was heading down the leg side. Immediately after that, Ibrahim hit Santner for an inside-out four as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 44 for no loss.
New Zealand went against the prevailing wisdom of not bowling an offspinner when two right-hand batters at the crease, and Michael Bracewell repaid that faith by conceding only six off his first two overs.
Lockie Ferguson was even more frugal, going for five in his first two. He could have had Ibrahim off a slower full toss but a leaping Kane Williamson failed to pull off a one-handed stunner at mid-off. That meant while Afghanistan remained unscathed, they had only 55 on the board after ten overs.
Afghanistan had not hit a single six in the first ten overs, but there were five in the next three, including three in one Bracewell over as Gurbaz and Bracewell stepped on the accelerator. The pair took the side past 100 in the 14th over. New Zealand finally broke through when Ibrahim bottom-edged a short ball from Henry onto his stumps, after having been hit on the grille on the previous delivery.
Promoted to No. 3, Azmatullah Omarzai played his part with 22 off 13, which included two sixes in three balls off Henry. Mohammad Nabi fell for a first-ball duck but Gurbaz kept finding the boundary at regular intervals. However, a three-wicket, three-run final over by Boult kept Afghanistan to 159.
Farooqi gave Afghanistan a dream start with the ball. With the very first delivery of the innings, he uprooted Finn Allen’s leg stump as the ball moved in late. In the seamer’s next over, Conway pushed at one that seemed to come slower off the surface and was caught at extra cover.
The decision to give Farooqi a third over in the powerplay brought further rewards. This time, bowling around the wicket to Daryl Mitchell, he got a length delivery to just straighten and take the outside edge. Gurbaz took a regulation catch to complete the dismissal and leave New Zealand 28 for 3.
It could have been worse for New Zealand. In between, Naveen-ul-Haq had rapped Kane Williamson’s front pad after the batter had moved across to play a delivery. Afghanistan sent it upstairs for an lbw review but the umpire’s call saved the New Zealand captain.
Afghanistan did not have to wait too long for Williamson’s wicket. Rashid brought himself on after the powerplay and struck straightaway as Williamson guided one to first slip. But Rashid was just warming up. In his next over, he dismissed Mark Chapman and Bracewell off successive deliveries to leave New Zealand on 43 for 6. Chapman went for a pull and got bowled; Bracewell was late to bring his bat down and was lbw.
Phillips was New Zealand’s last hope. He did hit a couple of boundaries but was soon caught at long-on when he tried to take on Nabi. That ended any hopes of revival New Zealand might have had.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 159 for 6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ibrahim Zadran 44, Azmatullah Omarzai 22; Trent Boult 2-22, Matt Henry 2-37, Lockie Fergusoan 1-28) beat New Zealand 75 in 15.2 overs (Glenn Phillips 18; Rashid Khan 4 for 17, Fazalhaq Farooqi 4 for 17, Mohammad Nabi 2-16) by 84 runs
[Cricinfo]
