An African Union helicopter crashed Wednesday at the airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu with eight people onboard, state media said.
The aircraft was part of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), tasked with fighting the Al-Shabaab militant group.
The state media agency Sonna said the AUSSOM helicopter, carrying eight people, “crashed during landing at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde Airport this morning after departing the Balidoogle”.
“The fire has been contained, and authorities are assessing the situation,” it said in a post on X.
Sonna quoted the country’s civil aviation authorities as saying that “flight operations remain normal”.
There were no further details given, but unverified clips and images shared online showed a plume of black smoke over the city.
The AUSSOM mission faces funding difficulties, even as fears of an Al-Shabaab resurgence are stoked by attacks in the Horn of Africa nation.
