A spokeswoman for the United Nations Help Mission in Somalia mentioned an announcement can be issued shortly.
The United Nations gives logistical and medical help to the 17,500-strong African Union peacekeeping drive in Somalia. An official with the drive who spoke on the situation of anonymity mentioned no peacekeeping troops have been onboard the helicopter.
Somali authorities forces, supported by the AU peacekeeping drive and clan militias, have clawed again territory from al-Shabab lately, however the rebel group nonetheless controls swaths of the nation.
Galguduud has been a key battleground, the place more and more robust clan militias against al-Shabab’s harsh interpretation of Islamic regulation have repeatedly clashed with the insurgency.
Tons of of U.S. troops are additionally current within the Horn of Africa nation, the place they practice the elite Somali particular forces and perform airstrikes and missions.
Somalia has been torn aside by civil battle since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohammed Siad Barre, then turned on one another.
The seize of the helicopter and its crew is more likely to evoke reminiscences of the seize of a U.S. navy crew when their Blackhawk helicopter was shot down over Mogadishu, the capital, in 1992.
Al-Shabab has incessantly seized international hostages, together with medical workers, and saved them in captivity for years. In 2018, they kidnapped a German nurse working with the Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross in Mogadishu. She has by no means been recovered.