MOGADISHU, Somalia — The United States government has strongly condemned deadly suicide and gun attack on Burundian soldiers serving at the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
In a statement, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Washington had condemned the terrorist attack on Burundian military base in Ceel-Baraf area, about 130km north of the capital Mogadishu.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the fallen, wounded, and missing. Burundi’s courageous armed forces have for years held the line against transnational terrorism in Somalia”, Price said.
He says the United States remains steadfast in support of ATMIS and against the scourge of terrorism.
On Wednesday, Burundian army said that at least 10 of its peacekeeping soldiers killed in an al Shabab attack on their base in south of Somalia.
But, the al Qaeda — linked group al Shabab said in a statement that its fighters had killed 59 Burundian soldiers following explosions and gun battle.
The group said its fighters had also overrun the base and seized caches of arms following Tuesday’s attack.
The militant group also released what it said were photos of the attack on ATMIS military base in Somalia, with some images showed that damaged vehicles, abandoned caches of arms and gory pictures of dead soldiers in Burundian army uniform.
