Off the wire
• Cambodia deports Spanish woman for joining "Black Monday" protest  • U.S. stocks open lower ahead of Fed minutes  • Namibia central bank maintains repo rate at 7 percent  • South African wine exports to further grow in next decade  • Interview: Ghana dreams a future running on renewable energy  • NATO naval force visits Egypt's Alexandria  • Growth in Chinese market helps increase Finnish sawn wood export  • "Monk inspectors" help nab over 600 fake monks at holy mountain  • Slovenia receives group of 14 refugees from Greece  • 129,000 drug users sent for detox, rehab this year  
You are here: 　 Home

AU mission denies shelling residential areas in Somalia

Xinhua, August 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Wednesday refuted reports that its peacekeeping troops fired rounds of mortars on residential areas near the southern port city of Marka.

In a statement, AMISOM said its routine weapon testing exercise had the impact site pre-determined and was carried out far away from residential areas.

"The local administration was also aware of the planned weapons' testing," it said.

The statement comes after residents in Marka claimed that AMISOM troops shelled residential areas on Tuesday. There were reports that AU forces stationed at Ayub camp bombed villages located on the outskirts of Marka, causing casualties and property damages.

AMISOM forces, alongside the Somali army, has been battling the Al-Shabaab Islamist group. They have recently stepped up the fight against the militants believed to have been hiding in remote regions in southern Somalia. Endit